A moist Coffee and Almond cake, with the rich flavour of Espresso coffee powder and texture similar to a Madeira cake or pound cake. Flaked Almonds and an Apricot glaze decorate the cake nicely.
This recipe was first published in Feb 2018 and has since been updated in May 2020.
Not only have I reduced the quantities for this Coffee Loaf Cake recipe from the original recipe, but I've also added an optional Apricot glaze. You can use a Marmalade glaze if you wish, or any similar leftover preserve/jam that you can find in your fridge
Ingredients you will need
Along with the basic ingredients of butter, flour, baking powder, sugar and eggs, you will also need Espresso Coffee Powder to give you a strong coffee flavour, ground almonds and a few Flaked Almonds and Apricot jam for decoration and glaze.
A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make a Coffee and Almond Loaf Cake
Preheat the oven to 180 deg c conventional oven. Grease and line 1 x 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Demerara sugar has larger crystals than soft brown sugar, so it will take longer to break down during the mixing process.
Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, adding a little of the flour between each one to help prevent curdling. Mix until well combined.
Add the remaining flour, ground almonds, baking powder, coffee powder, and milk. Mix on low setting until well combined.
Pour the batter into the loaf tin and smooth the surface, then sprinkle the flaked almonds on top.
Bake in the oven for 45 – 50mins or until baked, testing the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean.
Leave in the tin for 10 mins to cool a little, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Brush the top with an apricot glaze after warming the apricot preserve in a small pan.
Tips and Faq's
- Oven Temperature - Always make sure your oven comes up to temperature before your cake goes in to bake. Invest in an oven thermometer if you can.
- Cake Tin Lining - Lining the tin with baking parchment makes it easier to lift the cake out of the tin when it's baked.
- Keeping the Cake - This Coffee and Almond cake will keep for a few days if wrapped well and in an airtight container.
Add 1 tablespoon of dry coffee powder to the mixture. It's a good idea to mix the coffee powder with the flour first. If the recipe calls for liquid such as milk, to be added, replace this with freshly brewed espresso. Too much liquid will affect the structure of the cake batter.
You can use freshly brewed coffee such as Espresso coffee, or if you prefer, you can use coffee essence. Only do this when replacing any additional liquid in the recipe such as milk.
More Loaf Cakes that you may like to try.
Coffee and Almond Cake
Equipment
- 900g/2lb loaf tin
INGREDIENTS
- 180 g unsalted butter - softened
- 180 g brown demerara sugar or soft brown sugar
- 3 Medium Sized Eggs
- 125 g White Self Raising flour
- 55 g ground almonds
- ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoons of Espresso Coffee Powder
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon flaked almonds for decoration
- 2 tablespoons Apricot jam for the glaze (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 deg c conventional oven. Grease and line 1 x 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
- Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Demerara sugar has larger crystals and will take longer to break down during the mixing process.
- Gradually add the eggs one at a time, adding a little of the flour between each one to help prevent curdling. Mix until well combined.
- Add the remaining flour, ground almonds, baking powder, coffee powder, and milk.
- Mix on low setting until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the loaf tin and smooth the surface, sprinkle the flaked almonds on the top.
- Bake in the oven for 45 – 50mins or until baked, testing the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean.
- Leave in the tin for 10 mins to cool a little, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Brush the top with an apricot glaze after warming the apricot preserve in a small pan.
Notes
TIPS AND FAQ’S
- Oven Temperature – Always make sure your oven comes up to temperature before your cake goes in to bake. Invest in an oven thermometer if you can.
- Cake Tin Lining – Lining the tin with baking parchment makes it easier to lift the cake out of the tin when it’s baked.
- Keeping the Cake – This Coffee and Almond cake will keep for a few days if wrapped well and in an airtight container.
Lauryn Mathews
Discussing the advantage of using instant coffee rather than freshly brewed coffee is helpful considering there is such a difference in the outcome if you were to use freshly brewed coffee. To make this recipe vegan and to add to the almond element of the cake, an almond milk could be used instead of whole milk.
Lynn Hill
Hi Lauryn. Thanks for the tip about the option of replacing the whole milk with Almond milk to enhance the flavour of the ground Almonds.