Coffee lovers, this one's for you! This chocolate espresso cake is packed full of coffee flavour, which pairs beautifully with soft whipped brown sugar-cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients: Vanilla cake mix (sugar, enriched wheat flour, modified corn starch, milk ingredients, salt, wheat starch, canola oil, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, cellulose gum, monocalcium phosphate) (milk, wheat) • Grade A egg • Brown sugar (cane sugar, molasses) • Cream cheese (milk ingredients, modified milk ingredients, salt, bacterial culture, lactic acid, guar gum, carob bean gum, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate) (milk) • Cocoa powder • Instant coffee.
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Produced in a facility that processes milk, sesame, eggs, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybean and sulphites.
½ cup
Cocoa Powder
(May contain Soy, Fish, Sesame, Tree nuts, Peanuts, Mustard, Milk, Egg, Wheat, Crustaceans, Sulphites)
2 unit(s)
Egg
(Contains Egg)
2 tbsp
Espresso Powder
½ cup
Brown Sugar
(May contain Mustard, Soy, Egg, Fish, Wheat, Tree nuts, Peanuts, Sulphites, Crustaceans, Sesame, Milk)
2 unit(s)
Cream Cheese
(Contains Milk)
400 g
Vanilla Baking Mix
(Contains Wheat, Milk May contain Fish, Sesame, Mustard, Sulphites, Egg, Tree nuts, Crustaceans, Gluten, Peanuts, Soy)
6 tbsp
Butter*
(Contains Milk)
½ cup
Oil*
2 tbsp
Milk*
(Contains Milk)
0.13 tsp
Salt*
Before starting, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove 6 tbsp butter from the fridge and set aside in a warm place to soften. Place 1 cup water in a kettle or pot and let it come to a boil. Meanwhile, add 3 coffee powder packets to a small bowl. When water is boiling, pour over coffee powder, then stir to combine. Grease the base and sides of an 8x8-inch baking dish with additional butter, then line the base and sides with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang off the sides. (TIP: The overhang will make it easy for you to remove the cake from the pan later.)
Add eggs, 1/2 cup oil and coffee mixture to a large bowl, then whisk to combine. Add Vanilla Baking Mix and cocoa powder, then whisk until batter is smooth.Transfer cake batter to prepared baking dish. Bake in the middle of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out mostly clean, 22-25 min.Transfer baking dish to a wire rack to cool.
Meanwhile, place 2 tbsp milk and remaining packet of coffee powder in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave until coffee powder is dissolved, 15-20 sec. Set aside to cool.Cream 6 tbsp softened butter, brown sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer until lightened, 1-2 min.Slowly beat in cream cheese and milk mixture until smooth, 2-3 min.
Spread whipped brown sugar-cream cheese frosting over cooled cake, then use the back of a large spoon to create a swooping pattern across the cake. Cut cake into desired number of slices and serve.