Mini Espresso Cakes
Prep: -
Cook: 50 mins
Servings: 6
Mini Espresso Cakes by Charlotte Ree. "As a baker and dessert fiend who doesn’t drink coffee, this is my ultimate labour of love. The combination of chocolate and coffee here is incredibly rich and satisfying. You want to use good-quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder to achieve the fudgiest result. Don’t fret if, like me, you aren’t a coffee drinker – the espresso merely enhances the flavour of the chocolate, and is perfectly complemented by the mascarpone icing"
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
- 1 tbsp boiling water
- 250g White Wings Plain Four
- 65g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 3 teaspoons baking powder, sifted
- 170g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 225g CSR Brown Sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 400ml full-cream milk, at room temperature
- chocolate-coated coffee beans or chocolate shavings, to serve
Icing:
- 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
- 2 tbsp boiling water
- 500g CSR Pure Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 250g mascarpone, at room temperature
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease a 33 cm x 23 cm x 6 cm rectangular tray tin and line the base with baking paper.
- Dissolve the coffee granules in boiling water and set aside to cool.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, scraping down the side of the bowl throughout.
- Add the eggs and beat until combined. Add the coffee and mix, then alternately add the milk and dry ingredients and beat until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in its tin on a wire rack, then, using a 9 cm round cookie cutter, cut out six mini cakes.
- For the icing, dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and allow to cool. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder together into a medium bowl. Add the coffee and mascarpone and whisk until smooth.
- Spread the icing over the cooled cakes and scatter with the chocolate-coated coffee beans or chocolate shavings. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Tip:
Alternatively, leave the tray cake whole to serve 15.
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