mondomulia

Did I mention that I'm in the final of Lavazza Coffee Set Match? The results were announced on Friday and now it's only me and Michelle, of Utterly Scrummy, left in the competition!

We have been asked to prepare one final blog post, a judge will review it and then choose a winner next Monday (I'm not sure I can wait this long)!

I spent yesterday baking & decorating my final recipe, a VERY special one that I will reveal to you on Friday!

In preparation of the big surprise, I also baked a cake, which I wasn't planning to blog about, but then it looked so pretty (and tasted amazing) that I simply couldn't hide it from you! :)

When googling "coffee cake", I found this page. Now, I wouldn't normally trust the Daily Mail for cooking advice (or anything else), but the recipe seemed reasonable and I liked the addition of pistachios (of which I have plenty from my last trip to India).

For the frosting, I used a recipe already tested on the Toffee Coffee Cupcakes.

Ingredients

For the cake

* 225g butter, softened * 225g caster sugar * 4 large eggs * 3 tbsp strong coffee (I used Lavazza Intensamente capsules for A Modo Mio machine) * 75g shelled pistachio nuts, very finely chopped * 250g self-raising flour, sifted

For the frosting

* 100g full-fat cream cheese * 100g unsalted butter * 250g icing sugar * 50ml espresso (I used Lavazza Deliziosamente capsules for A Modo Mio machine)

Preparation

Pre heat the oven to 190 °C. Grease a deep cake tin.

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until light and fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition until well incorporated. Be careful not to add them too quickly or the mixture will tend to curdle.

Add the coffee and chopped nuts and mix well, then carefully fold in the flour. Pour the mixture straight away into the cake tin, transfer to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and risen. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, beat the cream cheese in a mixing bowl until light and creamy. Beat the butter and icing sugar in a separate mixing bowl until very pale and fluffy.

Add the cream cheese to the butter and sugar mixture a little at a time until combined. Slowly add the coffee – you can play with the quantities here, depending on your preferences on taste and colour. Beat until combined, then chill until set.

Cut the cake in half horizontally, spread the frosting over the bottom layer, close with the top layer, sprinkle with icing sugar. Add halved pistachio nuts on the frosting as decoration.