Coffee Cake with Coffee Frosting

This coffee flavored cake is truly for coffee lovers. The coffee flavors both the cake and the frosting, cutting the sweetness without detracting from the flavor. But you gotta like coffee. A lot. Luckily, we do, so this is a very popular cake in our house.

Coffee Flavored Cake

Our friend Tom introduced us to this cake last year and I couldn’t get it out of my head. His version started with a cake mix, and it was truly irresistible. So, I challenged myself to recreate it from scratch. This is truly a coffee lover’s dream come true.

As much as I love a great coffee cake -which is typically made without a bit of coffee in it, but served with coffee- this is a cake for the coffee lover. Coffee flavored cake topped with fluffy coffee frosting? I very happily make and eat this cake as often as possible.

coffee flavored cake on a cake stand waiting for coffee frosting

Coffee Flavored Cake Recipe

To make this little piece of coffee heaven, you’ll need the following ingredients:

instant coffee
water
brown sugar
white sugar
vegetable or olive oil
eggs
vanilla extract
all purpose flour
baking powder
salt
coffee frosting

Coffee Frosting

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease an 8-inch round or square baking pan with butter. Combine the instant coffee and the water and stir to dissolve. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugars with the oil and beat until fluffy crumbs form. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Slowly pour in coffee mixture while continuing to beat the mixture.

coffee cake with coffee frosting on a plate with a spatula

Slowly add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 34-36 minutes.

Test the center of the cake for doneness with a toothpick, and remove from the oven. Cool completely before frosting. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.

COOK’S NOTES: This cake can also be doubled for a 9×13 cake pan or made as a layer cake using (2) 8-inch round pans.

I use one (.11 ounce) tube of instant coffee (the kind from a well-known coffee shop) for each 1½ teaspoon portion listed in this recipe.

coffee cake with coffee frosting on a fork

Servings: 12 servings

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch round or square baking pan with butter. Combine the instant coffee and the water and stir to dissolve. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the sugars with the oil and beat until fluffy crumbs form. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Slowly pour in coffee mixture while continuing to beat the mixture.
Slowly add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 34-36 minutes. Test the center of the cake for doneness with a toothpick, and remove from the oven. Cool completely before frosting.

This cake can also be doubled for a 9×13 cake pan or made as a layer cake using (2) 8-inch round pans.
I use one (.11 ounce) tube of instant coffee (the kind from a well-known coffee shop) for each 1½ teaspoon portion listed in this recipe.

Calories: 164kcal · Carbohydrates: 24g · Protein: 2g · Fat: 7g · Saturated Fat: 1g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g · Monounsaturated Fat: 2g · Trans Fat: 0.04g · Cholesterol: 27mg · Sodium: 111mg · Potassium: 109mg · Fiber: 0.4g · Sugar: 13g · Vitamin A: 40IU · Calcium: 43mg · Iron: 1mg