OLIVE OIL, COFFEE & CARDAMOM CAKE RECIPE

It’s National Baking Week, so we asked some of the best bakers among our team of ambassadors to get their baking hats on and whip up some tasty treats using our flavoured instant coffees. They sure delivered the goods. We’ll be featuring the recipes on our blog over the course of the next few months, so why not have a go at one yourself?

First up is one from our lovely ambassador Annie Mae, A.K.A. The Culinary Bee, with a delicious Olive Oil, Coffee & Cardamom Cake.

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 8)

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 large eggs
• 150g golden caster sugar
• 200g plain flour
• 120ml olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tbsp Little's cardamom bun coffee (with a teaspoon of water/milk)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp coco powder

FOR THE ICING

• 300g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp Little’s Cardamom Bun coffee ( with a teaspoon of water/milk)
• 2 tbsp coco powder
• 100g butter
• 1-2 tbsp milk

FOR THE GANACHE

• 250g dark chocolate
• 100ml double cream
• Pinch of salt

METHOD

1. For the icing: whisk together the cocoa powder and Cardamom Bun coffee until smooth, then set aside.
2. Start preparing the cake: sift the flour, salt and baking powder into one bowl and, in a separate bowl, pour the olive oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk with an electric mixer until smooth. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then slowly add the cocoa and flour mix, a little at a time. It’s important to not overmix here, folks!
3. Pour the batter between two greased tins, transfer to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, checking at 16 minutes. Bake until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 15-20 minutes then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack.
5. Back to the icing. In a large bowl, mix the sugar and butter with a spoon. Stir in the coffee and cocoa powder that you set aside earlier with 1 tablespoon of the milk.
6. Gradually beat in the remaining milk to make the mixture spreadable and silky. (If you have added too much milk, add more sugar).
7. Add a nozzle of your choice to a baking bag. Fill the bag with the icing and pop in the fridge for a minimum of 10 minutes.
8. To make the ganache, chop up the dark chocolate bar into small chunks, add to a bowl and transfer to a microwave for 1 minute. Check at 30 seconds, stir, and return for the remaining time.
9. Pour the cream and salt into the same bowl, leave for 30 seconds, and stir until it is thick and glossy.
10. To compile the cake, make sure both the sponges are cooled and, with a bread knife, carefully half them horizontally (so you now have two layers from one cake) and repeat so you have four layers.
11. Place a layer onto a cake stand or a serving plate. Pipe rings of the icing and then spread evenly, and repeat, stacking the layers on top of one another.
12. Ice the top of the cake to act as a glue for the ganache, then pour the ganache over the cake and allow it to drip. Add eight little buttercream dollops to the top of the cake (to show portion sizes) and add chopped chocolate and cardamom seeds.
13. Pop into the fridge for an hour and then devour!

Enjoy, folks. Be sure to share your creations and tag us (@wearelittles) and Annie Mae (@theculinarybee) in your posts!