Coffee Pound Cake
Coffee and I have a long, complicated history with each other. I’ll swear it off for a while, feel like I’ve finally kicked the habit once and for all…then have just the right kind of bad day to where I’ll say “Screw it” and just throw myself back into the java river with no regrets. Until the time comes when I’m ready to swear it off again.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat. It’s a cycle that never ends. I should just stop trying to pretend like it will. Coffee and me may have a turbulent history, but we’ll always end up going back to each other. We break up to make up. And boy, do we know how to make up.
I’ve now reached the point in my fixation with coffee where I look for ways to use it for more than just a beverage. Because as it turns out, coffee is a great ingredient for use in both savory cooking and sweet baking.
Did y’all know that? No? Well, you do now. Even if you don’t like it all on its own, I think you’d still be hard pressed not to like the way it’s used in today’s recipe. It’s a real keeper.
When a special occasion comes around, I like to commemorate it by making a cake. My 28th birthday was the last week in September AND, this week will mark the fourth anniversary of Cooking is My Sport. I’d say those were kind of special occasions. Special enough to celebrate with a great cake, anyway.
I don’t feel twenty eight (two years from thirty, yikes) and it certainly doesn’t feel like I’ve been blogging for four years. I’m grateful that I’m one year older, and (hopefully) one year wiser. It’s been a HUGE year of change–the good kind. I’ve been able to continue cooking, baking and blogging through that change in location and routine, which has been a relief and an outlet for me. Y’all have been great. Thank you to everyone who follows, likes and comments on CIMS. It’s very, VERY much appreciated. I mean that.
Pound cake is the best cake there is. This isn’t just because it’s got a lot of butter and sugar in it (though that’s certainly a good enough reason). It’s also because pound cake is a blank cake canvas on which you have the option of either eating plain, or testing out MANY different flavor profiles most of which will turn out great. You can make a cake that’s already delicious on its own taste even better by adding your flavor of choice. A moist vanilla pound cake is unquestionably perfect, but in my own experimenting, I’ve found that almond, lemon, orange or marble flavored ones are equally scrumptious.
I can now also add coffee flavored pound cake to that list. After you try this recipe I’m pretty sure you’ll be ready to add it to yours too. A few notes for those who are ready to break out their mixers and have already preheated their ovens:
As you can see, this cake is big. VERY big. Any cake with seven eggs is going to rise high and I’m glad I followed my instincts and went ahead with my 16 cup tube pan rather than the 10 cup bundt pan. I’d have been left with a huge mess in my oven otherwise. If you don’t have a pan that big, I recommend you splitting the batter up between two loaf pans or two 8 or 9 inch round pans.
So far as the star ingredient here goes, I’ll say the same thing I do when using booze as an ingredient: don’t use something you wouldn’t be okay with drinking all on its own. If you buy and use a generic coffee with a flavor that you’re not fond of, chances are you’re going to end up with a cake flavor you’re not fond of either. Don’t use dark roast if you don’t like dark roast coffee. Don’t you light roast if light isn’t your fave. I do also recommend you use a coffee with its own unique taste; I used one that was a medium roast Creme Brulee flavor that I LOVE to drink.
Get the point? Good.
I used a mixture of brown and white sugar in the batter to give it a richer sweetness. The cinnamon works well with the bitterness of the coffee; you’re going to taste it but you likely won’t be able to place just what ‘it’ is. You’ll just know that you like it.
The cake bakes up so moist and rich. You could eat it totally plain and be satisfied, but I decided to go a step further and add a drizzle of icing flavored with some of the leftover coffee, and then a layer of melted semi-sweet chocolate drizzle. This bumped up both the look and taste. This really is one of the best cakes I’ve had in a good long while. I hope some of you fellow coffee lovers choose to give it a try.
Sharing at this week’s Fiesta Friday #193 co-hosted by Suzanne @ apuginthekitchen and Ginger @ Ginger and Bread.
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Coffee Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamom
- 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark, it’s up to you)
- 1 1/2 cup white sugar
- 7 eggs
- 1 1/4 cup freshly brewed coffee, divided and cooled (use something you would drink with its own distinctive flavor)
For Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cooled coffee
- 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 °, Grease and flour a 16 cup tube pan or 2 loaf pans.
In a medium size bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together with a fork and set aside.
Using the paddle attachment of a standing mixer or a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light & creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and 1 cup of the coffee to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour.
Pour the batter into the tube pan, spreading the top with a spatula. Lift the pan up a little and let it tap down onto a countertop a few times to eliminate air bubbles. Place the pan on a half sheet pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted deep into the cake comes out clean. (Pound cakes are done at an inner temp of 195-200 degrees Fahrenheit)
Allow to cool in pan for about 25 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
In a small bowl mix the powdered sugar with about 1 tablespoon of coffee at a time, mixing thoroughly until it forms a smooth but thick icing. (You probably won’t need to use all the coffee, it all depends on how thick or thin you like your icing to be.) Use a fork to drizzle the coffee icing over the cake and alternate between drizzling with the melted chocolate. Allow to harden/set for about one hour before serving.
Looks devine!!!!
Thank you, it’s a great cake, I hope you can try it sometime 🙂
Looks delicious!
Thank you Joann!
Oh I love coffee and I LOVE pound cake, this looks delicious. I never tried to do without coffee, I’ve read it’s health food/drink and I have to have it in the morning. Dipping pound cake in coffee is a favorite of mine.
Ohhhhh, I’ve never tried pound cake dipped in coffee! That sounds great Suzanne, thank you 🙂
This Coffee pound cake looks scrumptious, and would love to try a slice, actually I would have a slice with some coffee or rum ice cream – delicious 😀
Thanks Chef, those are GREAT ideas and the cake would be even better alongside them 🙂
This cake looks lovely!
I don’t think I have ever seen a pound cake with such an amount of coffee. Definitely great for coffee lovers!
It’s a lot of coffee, but that only gives it all the more flavor. Trust me it works, especially for coffee lovers. Thanks Jenny 🙂
Never doubted that 😋
Looks drooling……loved to taste it 🙂
Thank you 🙂
I don’t know how I got here. I don’t even know how to bake! But this looks delicious! Belated Happy Birthday!
Lol Thank you so much Denise, I’m happy you’re here 😉
Another great recipe Jess! You are killing it! When you make it big time, can you take me with you? LOL!
You’re so sweet. Thank you, I appreciate that a lot 😉
Awesome !
Thanks Megala!
I don’t even like coffee but even I think this looks amazing! My boyfriend loves the stuff though so I might have to try and make it for him! 🙂
If he’s a coffee lover, I guarantee he will love this cake. I got rave reviews from people who *don’t* love it–thank you 🙂
Haha, I’ll definitely give it a try then! 🙂
Happy belated birthday, Jess. 28 is still young, I tell yah! How about me turning 36 this week? Sssshhh!😂 And congratulations on the 4th year! This cake is indeed perfect for both celebrations. I love coffee, too, and like you, I love to find ways how to enjoy coffee more than drinking. Glad you have shared this one. I don’t have a cake pan like yours, so I may have to improvise. Hmmm…. Happy Fiesta Friday, Jess. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Jhuls- it will definitely still work just as well split between two smaller pans 🙂
Happy belated birthday Jess and don’t beat yourself up about coffee – a few cups a day it seems are very good for us – well as long as you keep a check on any added milk and sugar!
Thank you Laura 🙂
My heart goes out to you! I love coffee, and slowly increase my daily intake until it makes me ill. Then I feel all sorry for myself, swear never to touch more than one cup a day, and the vicious cycle begins again.
Congratulations to birthday and anniversary from all of us over at Fiesta Friday!
Ginger x
Boy, does that vicious cycle sound familiar Ginger lol Thank you 😉
You’re welcome! *enjoying a cup of coffee. Just one …*
I could eat the biggest chunk of this cake. Yum!
It certainly is ‘that’ kind of cake where you want to lol Thank you Debbie 😀
Pound cake, so cute Jess! You’re pro!! Thanks for your sharing :))
Happy birthday and blogiversary, Jess! And COFFEE pound cake?! Be still my heart!
Thank you Angie 🙂
Happy belated birthday and blogiversary! I love coffee the drink and coffee flavored anything, so I know I would love this pound cake. It looks so rich, moist and flavorful – yum!
Thanks Lily, if you like coffee, this is definitely the cake for you 😉
These photos are absolutely mouth-watering. I am dying on sight! Thank you so so so much for sharing this recipe. I am looking forward to this Autumn Delight!
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Thank you Stephen, I appreciate that.
Beautiful Decoration!
Thanks, I promise it tastes just as good as it looks 😉
Great recipe! Will try soon. Also please check out this post as to how java infuses magic into chance meetings with friends: https://columntribe.wordpress.com/2017/10/23/a-break-from-everyday/
Great! thanks for your recipe!