“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ursula K Le Guin

Its been a whole year since my blog went live!

So sometime in the middle of 2015 , I had realised my baking was teetering between a dedicated hobby and an obsession . I toyed with the idea of blogging , but kept putting it off (I happen to be a world class procrastinator) . I even bought a domain name , wrote a couple of posts, and then rethought the whole thing. Should I ? Shouldn’t I? Finally on a semi-fateful day in August , the blog went live. 365 days later and here we are!

The idea was to keep it simple , keep it about the baking , keep it about the beginner. For the first few months , I was irregular , not too oriented and a little all over the place. In the beginning of 2016, I picked up speed , found my footing and have never looked back. I have grown of course – experimenting with flavours, baking without eggs , trying things I hadn’t before. Thank you for that ! And thank you for being part of my little online world!

I realise my teeny tiny year-old blog is just a tiny speck in this super vast food blogging universe , but it keeps me happy – and thats what its all about in the end right!

Thats enough of my emotional rant.

Any anniversary calls for cake and cake it is. If you have visited me before , you’ll know I am a coffee kinda girl and this cake is the ultimate tribute to the Java that keeps me going!

A coffee flavoured sponge cake, drenched in coffee syrup , filled with a decadent dark chocolate ganache and wrapped with a luscious coffee mascarpone frosting. De….licious

Coffee overload cake!

Ingredients:

For the coffee sponge cake:

3 tsps instant coffee powder

1 tablespoon water

3 eggs, at room temperature

100 grams or 1/2 cups granulated sugar

65 grams or 1/2 cups all purpose flour

pinch of salt

 

For the mascarpone cream :

150 grams mascarpone cheese

180 ml or 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream/chilled

2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

1 tablespoon water

5 tablespoons icing sugar

 

For the ganache :

150 grams dark chocolate

60 ml or 1/4 cups cream

 

For the soaking syrup:

240 ml or 1 cups water

2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

50 grams or 1/4 cups granulated sugar

Steps:

To make the coffee sponge :

1. Preheat your oven to 180 C/350 F. Line the bottom of a round 7 or 8 inch pan with parchment paper. Or grease and dust the bottom.
2. Dissolve the coffee in the water. Keep aside.
3. Beat the eggs until frothy using an electric mixer or a whisk.
4. Add the sugar and beat until triple in volume.
5. Add the coffee mixture and beat for a minute (when you lift the whisk/beater , a ribbon should form on the top of the batter in the bowl)
6. Sift in the flour and salt. Fold gently using a spatula .
7. Pour batter into prepared pan. Tap against counter. Bake at 350 F / 180 C for 24-26 minutes until top springs back when pressed and the edges come away from side.
8. Cool in pan for five minutes . Remove from pan carefully, remove parchment and cool completely on wire rack.

To make the mascarpone cream:

1. Dissolve the coffee in the water.
2. Mix the dissolved coffee into the mascarpone.
3. Whip the chilled cream and sugar to firm peaks.
4. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture , 1/3 at a time.
5. Keep chilled until using.

To make the ganache :

1. Chop the chocolate , as small as you can.
2. Heat the cream until bubbles appear on the side.
3. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate. Let rest for a minute.
4. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and you have smooth ganache.

To make the soaking syrup:

1. Bring the water , sugar and coffee to a boil.
2. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Take off heat and cool completely before using.

For the assembly :

1. Slice the coffee sponge cake horizontally into three.
2. Place one of the layers on a cake board/ plate .Generously , soak with the coffee soaking syrup using a brush or spoon.
3. Spread about 1/4 cup of ganache.
4. Place the second layer , soak and ganache.
5. Place the final layer .
6. Chill for 15 minutes .
7. Cover the outsides with the coffee mascarpone frosting.
8. Decorate as you wish!

Notes:

• This is a variation of my plain sponge cake. Look for details of getting a sponge just right here.
• This bakes quickly so keep checking from 20 minutes onwards.
• Cool completely and chill before slicing/ torting.
• The coffee mascarpone frosting is adapted from Poornima’s tasty treats.
• Adjust the coffee amounts and the sugar in the whipping cream according to your taste preferences.
• The cake can be refrigerated for 3-4 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
• Like most layer cakes, let its rest overnight before serving for the cake to soak and flavours to set.
• If you are new to ganache , you might want to check this out.

This cake is perfect for my blog’s anniversary as its quintessentially me – chocolate, coffee , simple , real. If you love coffee, this cake will rock your world ! Its moist and coffee-liciously irresistible ! Don’t blame me though if you are up all night !

A huge huge thank you to you for thinking my little space is worth your time ! A bigger one if you have been following my yearlong journey atleast part of the way. Do let me know what you like here , and more importantly, what you don’t ! Happy baking everyone !