I’m not sure if it’s a lack of time, motivation or just pure laziness on my part but I am having a real moment for simple bakes right now, the one bowls, the bung it all in together, the ready in under an hour from start to finish kind of bakes. Minimal effort, instant gratification, that’s what I’m feeling lately. Perhaps it’s the dull start to spring or simply trying to get used to the faster paced, busy schedules again post pandemic, or dare I say it could just be that I’m getting older & caffeine plays a far greater role in keeping me functional now. Whatever the cause of my laziness, it has reopened my eyes to some plain cake appreciation. A plain slice of something nice that isn’t trying to be grand, extravagant & beautiful but simply something delicious that will satisfy a craving, bring people together or put a smile on your face. That’s exactly where this simple coffee cake recipe originated from, I had an itch to bake something, having had little time to do so for a while & a craving for something sweet, with that all important caffeine thrown in for good measure. Before I knew it, we both managed to find 20 minutes to just pause for coffee & a slice of a cake, bliss. This has just enough hint of coffee flavour without being too overpowering & a really light, damp texture, both of which actually benefit from being left to sit in a tin for a day or two to develop a little.
SIMPLE COFFEE CAKE
(makes one 23cm round cake)
Ingredients:
- 100ml yogurt
- 100ml rapeseed oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150g plain flour
- 75g ground almonds
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of salt
- 160g soft light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp instant coffee powder
Method:
- Grease and line a round 23cm baking tin with baking parchment
- In a large bowl or jug, beat together the yogurt, oil, eggs & vanilla until smooth & well combined
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, ground almond, baking powder, bicarbonate, salt, sugar & coffee powder
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients & pour in the yogurt mixture
- Mix everything together until smooth & well combined
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin & bake at 180C for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake can be removed cleanly with no wet mixture attached
- Leave the cake to cool in its tin for 10 minutes before removing & allowing to fully cool on a cooling rack
- Optional: if you’d like to add a bit of extra sweetness, mix up a simple coffee icing using 1 tbsp instant coffee granules, 1 1/2 tbsp water & 200-300g icing sugar then drizzle over the top
