Coffee Tray Bake

This is a cake that is easy to throw together at the last minute and can be eaten at almost any time of day. The only time of day that I would personally avoid is in the evening, because I have quite a low caffeine tolerance and like being able to sleep at night.

I brought this cake with me on a trip to see my cousin in Burgess Hill. He liked the way that the coffee granules melt in your mouth, giving little bursts of caffeine. I think he must have liked it quite a bit because he had two pieces even though we were on our way to get lunch.

As always, this was a throw-together-invent-as-you-go kind of cake, even though it is based on my standard cake mix. I chose to throw the instant coffee into the batter without dissolving it first, which is what gave the bursts of caffeine, but if you don't want a speckled cake then go right ahead and make an espresso first. The icing is flavoured with hints of cinnamon and vanilla along with the coffee, giving the cake a bit of depth and harking back to my penchant for flavoured coffee.

Ingredients
For the cake:

• 200g Butter
• 200g Caster Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 200g Plain Flour
• 2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 3 Tsp Instant Coffee
• 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 100mL Milk

For the icing:

• 200g Icing Sugar
• 70g Butter
• 2 Tsp Instant Coffee
• 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Recipe

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan and line a deep baking tray with parchment paper.

For the cake:

• Cream the butter and  caster sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth.
• Sift the flour and baking powder into the batter and fold in until well combined.
• Stir in the coffee and cinnamon.
• Add enough milk to give the batter a soft dropping consistency.
• Pour the batter into the baking tray and bake in the oven for 22 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool completely before icing it.

For the icing:

• Beat all of the ingredients together until smooth.
• Spread over the top of the cake.