Using a wooden spoon or a hand-held whisk, beat in the melted butter, egg yolks, coffee and water until smooth.
3 Whisk the egg whites in a large clean bowl until fairly stiff peaks form, then gently fold into the cake mixture in three batches making sure there are no lumps of egg white left.
4 Turn the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the surface. Give the tin a tap to remove any air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 160°C (325°F), Gas mark 3 for the last 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
5 Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then lift out by the parchment paper onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6 Make the icing. When the cake is cold, remove the parchment paper. Using a bread knife, split the cake horizontally and spread about a third of the icing on the lower half with a palette knife. Place the other half of the cake back on top and spread the rest of the icing over it.
7 Decorate as desired. It’s best to leave the cake for 30 minutes to settle before cutting.
VARIATION
Cupcakes: This mixture also makes lovely cupcakes. Divide into 12 cupcake cases and bake for 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 190°C (375°F), Gas mark 5, then cool and simply dust with icing sugar.
RED VELVET CAKE
This delicious treat has layers of vampy red cake contrasting with snowy white frosting. The result is quite spectacular, both to look at and to eat. A journalist once wrote in The New York Times that this is the Dolly Parton of cakes—rich and tacky, but much loved all the same!
SERVES 10-12
150g (5oz) butter, softened
300g (11oz) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, separated
250g (9oz) plain flour
25g (1oz) cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
2 level tbsp good-quality cocoa powder
250ml (9fl oz) buttermilk
Red food colouring (use 2 tbsp liquid colour or ½ tsp thick red food paste)
Pinch of salt
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the white frosting
2 large egg whites
250g (9oz) caster sugar
50g (2oz) golden syrup
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp cream of tartar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Two 23cm (9in) diameter sandwich tins, each about 5cm (2in) deep
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Butter and flour the sides of the cake tins and line the bases with parchment paper.
2 Cream the butter in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer until soft. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and the egg yolks, one by one, beating well after each addition.
3 Place the flour, cornflour, baking powder and cocoa powder in a sieve resting on a plate. Measure the buttermilk with the food colouring and mix together. It should be very red, so add more if you need to.
4 Sift one-third of the dry ingredients into the butter and eggs mixture until just combined, then pour in one-third of the buttermilk mixture and mix until just combined. Continue, combining a third at a time, until both are incorporated.
5 Whisk the egg whites and salt in a large, spotlessly clean bowl until stiffish peaks form. Add one-quarter to the batter and mix. Add the remaining egg whites in three stages, folding them in gently with a large metal spoon until just incorporated, leaving as much air in the egg whites as possible.
6 In a small bowl, mix the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda until it bubbles up, then gently fold this into the batter. Quickly pour the batter into the two prepared tins and smooth the tops. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean and the cakes feel slightly springy on top.
7 Leave in the tins for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the cakes from the tins, running a table knife or a palette knife slowly around them to loosen them, and invert them onto a wire rack to cool.
8 To make the white frosting, place the egg whites, sugar, golden syrup, salt, cream of tartar and water in a stainless steel or heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. (The base of the bowl should not touch the water.) Bring the water to a steady simmer. With a hand-held electric beater or a balloon whisk (to build up your muscles!), whisk the mixture until you have shiny, satiny soft peaks. Remove the bowl from the simmering water and continue to whisk for a further 2 minutes—it will get a bit stiffer. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
9 Immediately ice the middle, top and sides of the cake with a palette knife, fluffing the frosting up to form little peaks all over the cake. You need to work fast to ice the cake, as the icing sets very quickly. Leave for at least 30 minutes to allow a thin crust to form outside a creamy interior.
RACHEL’S BAKING TIP
*After the cakes have cooled completely and before frosting, cover them loosely with cling film and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes-1 hour. This really helps when it comes to icing delicate crumbly cakes.
CHOCOLATE, MARMALADE AND HAZELNUT CAKE
If you love the combination of chocolate with orange, this is the cake for you! It’s incredibly rich and intense in flavour.
SERVES 12
175g (6oz) butter
