Coffee Cake

Lets start with a basic Coffee Cake! Toppings and Icing are optional. Once again, please do give us feedback on how it was! 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2  tsp baking powder
3 eggs (separated)
3/4 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp instant coffee
1/3 cup water

For Toppings:
12-15 almonds or walnuts (whole and crushed)

For Icing:
1 cup of granulated sugar
6 tablespoons of butter or margarine (softened)
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1 cup of powdered sugar
1/3 cup of milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Grease and dust your pan or cake tin with butter/oil and flour.*
2. Mix sugar, coffee and water in a big pan. Heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and keep aside to cool. 
3. Sieve flour with baking powder.
4. Beat egg whites till stiff, and then keep aside.
5. Beat butter and yolks till creamy.
6. Add the sugar-coffee syrup (Direction 2)
7. Stir the sugar-coffee syrup in the sifted flour.
8. Fold egg whites (Direction 4) into the mixture in two batches. Fold gently until well mixed.
9. Transfer to the greased and dusted tin. First, level it, and then make a slight depression** in the
   middle of the mixture, by shifting some of it to the sides.
   Bake it in an oven at 180°C/350°F, for 40 minutes or till firm. Transfer to a serving platter.

Toppings and Icing: 

Icing: 

(Make the Icing after, or while the cake is baking.*** )

1. Cream butter. In a large bowl, whip butter at medium speed with an electric mixer, or with a whisk, until it is fluffy.
2. Blend dry ingredients. In a small bowl, sift or whisk to combine cocoa and granulated sugar.
3. Combine ingredients. Add the cocoa/sugar mix alternately with milk. Do not add too much milk, or the mixture will become too thin.
5. Beat until the mixture is spreading consistency. If too thick, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time. If too thin, add more cocoa/sugar mixture.
6. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla. Blend well.
7. Add powdered sugar. Whisk in the powdered sugar, blending well so there aren’t any lumps.
8. Spread on the cake! For a more professional look, make sure it is even.

Topping:

(It is okay to sprinkle the nuts on top, but this easy technique makes it look more professional:)

1. Toast the whole nuts in a non-stick pan till light golden. 
2. Sprinkle the toasted and the crushed nuts on top, and serve.

WHY’S:

*We grease and dust the tin/pan so that the cake comes out easily after baking, and does not stick to the bottom.

** If a depression is not made in the middle, the cake will overflow, because a cake rises from the middle.

***If the icing is kept too long, it becomes hard.

References:
The Coffee Cake recipe has been taken from Nita Mehta’s Bakes and Cakes, but has been tried by me.
The Icing recipe has been taken from wikihow.com

Good Luck! 

☺

~Cookie