--- See Mary Berry make coffee praline cake in Mary Berry's Simple Comforts, Sundays at 7.30pm from 23 January on SBS Food. Episodes will be available at SBS On Demand for 30 days after they air ---
'Coffee cake' is often used to describe the sort of easy cake you might serve with coffee for morning tea, and most of the time there's no coffee used in the making. But here we're talking cakes made with coffee, from glorious celebration cakes to cupcakes topped with coffee buttercream swirls, and even a no-bake biscuit cake.
And for those who really like coffee, some ideas for your cup, too.
No oven is needed for this Bosnian beauty: this cake is made up of layers of petit beurre biscuits and chocolate cream, with the biscuits, dipped in coffee before layering. Serve chilled or even frozen.
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"This cake is an absolute cracker. Dead easy to make," says Mary Berry of this coffee and hazelnut praline cake, which she makes in Mary Berry's Simple Comforts. "Praline sounds very posh. It is simply caramel with nuts. It really is very, very easy if you follow the rules." This is perfect if you're making a celebration cake for a coffee lover: Two layers of coffee-flavoured cake are layered with a coffee buttercream icing and sprinkled with hazelnut praline. Especially good for when you want to make ahead: the cake can be assembled and iced a day ahead (and the un-iced cake can be frozen).
Four layers of coffee syrup-soaked genoise sponge, married with coffee buttercream and decorated with flaked almonds, this recipe from Anneka Manning makes a wonderful celebration cake.
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Another fabulous recipe from Anneka Manning, this time taking an Italian classic and creating elegant individual dessert cakes.
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"This is a treasured family recipe passed down from my mother," says Kathy Kerestes of this Hungarian dessert cake. A coffee-chocolate whipped cream icing is layered with an almond-coffee-cocoa cake and crunchy praline.
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Throw yourself into an intense expression of the glory that happens when dark chocolate meets coffee with this indulgent (and gluten-free) mud cake.
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Call it a cake, a loaf, a log or even a scone, what matters most is how good this is. Although based on a scone dough, the slices are more like a cakey biscuit, The chocolate filling is studded with coffee-soaked raisins, and the cooked and cooled loaves are drizzled with coffee icing. This is another great bake-ahead recipe, as the rolls will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.
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Here, delicate layers of hazelnut meringue are matched with a sweet but intense coffee-cream filling.
This recipe calls for Vietnamese brewed coffee, which uses a stainless steel filter, but if you can't source one, regular coffee will do, says Lisa Nguyen of these little coffee-flavoured cakes, which are finished with a coffee and condensed milk frosting.
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There's a lot to love in this colourful Italian dessert cake: three layers of cake, two soaked with coffee syrup and the middle layer (that's the vibrant pink layer) livened up with grenadine, plus two flavours of crema pasticciera (pastry cream) - cocoa and lemon.
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Described as "decidedly rich and one for sweet tooths", these little cake stacks are made up of nutty hazelnut meringue layered with a rich coffee-chocolate filling.
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"The combination of vanilla cake, strong coffee and rich mascarpone cream-cheese frosting with a hint of chocolate will give you some serious food-coma vibes," says The Scran Line's Nick Makrides of these cupcakes. Each little baked cake gets dipped in coffee before getting a dose of chocolate filling and then being topped with a piped tower of frosting.
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The classic tiramisu meets the Yule log in this 'Tiramisu buche de Noel' recipe from Anna Olson - but it's just as good for any day of the year. There's a hint of coffee in the cake, in the chocolate-coffee filling and in the whipped cream covering, too.
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And to drink ...
If you're looking for a coffee to have with your cake, here are a few ideas. For a celebration summer brunch, whip up an iced rum coffee; or for cold days, a Spanish mulled coffee (café caleta). Or spice things up with a cardamom-infused Lebanese coffee.
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SBS Food is a 24/7 foodie channel for all Australians, with a focus on simple, authentic and everyday food inspiration from cultures everywhere. NSW stream only. Read more about SBS Food
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