This Chocolate Coffee Cake is a rich, moist dessert infused with instant coffee for depth of flavor. It is topped with a creamy, sweet custard-like icing made with coffee, cream cheese, and the popular caramelized biscuit spread, Lotus Biscoff (referred to as Lotus Cream in the ingredients).
Ingredients:
Cake Batter:
Coffee Topping:
How To Make Chocolate Coffee Cake with Lotus Cream Topping:
1. Make the Cake Batter:
- Preheat and Whisk: Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and salt until frothy.
- Combine Sugars and Oil: Combine the 150 grams of sugar with the 8 grams of vanilla sugar and mix well. Gradually add the 80 milliliters of oil to the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
- Mix Coffee and Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the 2 teaspoons of instant coffee and 100 milliliters of milk.
- Prepare Cocoa (Note): The original recipe calls for “Bitter Chocolate” to be added to the flour mixture. It is commonly assumed that 20 grams of bitter chocolate (like unsweetened or high-cacao dark chocolate) should be used. However, since the instruction step says to sift the “flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder,” we will proceed by using a suitable amount of cocoa powder instead of melting the bitter chocolate.
- Combine: Sift together the flour, cocoa powder (substituting for bitter chocolate), and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients alternately with the coffee-milk mixture, mixing gently until just combined.
2. Bake the Cake:
- Bake: Grease and flour a cake pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool: Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
3. Make the Coffee Topping:
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a saucepan, whisk together the 21 tablespoon of sugar, cornstarch, and 2 teaspoons of instant coffee.
- Make Custard: Gradually whisk in the 325 milliliters of milk to avoid lumps. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a creamy custard.
- Finish Topping: Remove from heat and whisk in the 21 tablespoon of cream cheese and 1 spoonful of Lotus cream until the topping is smooth and well-combined.
4. Assemble and Serve:
- Frost: Once the cake is cool, spread the coffee topping evenly over the top.
- Set and Serve: Let the topping cool and harden before slicing and serving.
Tips:
- Sifting: Sifting the dry ingredients will help ensure a light and smooth cake batter.
- Stirring Topping: Stir the coffee topping constantly while cooking to prevent burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Serving: Enjoy this cake warm with a cup of tea or coffee, or make it extra decadent by topping with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
