Espresso Cake : a dessert with intense taste, suitable for all day !

Coffee, besides being a favorite drink, can also be the basis for many delicious desserts. One of these, suitable for every hour of the day but ideal for breakfast, is the espresso cake!

Desserts that use the coffee’s natural flavor are not rare, as it balances between bitter and sweet and, combined with other materials, can give interesting flavor contrasts. Many of some beloved coffee based desserts, such as Tiramisu and Affogato, originate from Italy, a country well known for its unique Coffee Culture. Espresso’s intense flavor or even  filter coffee’s delicate taste can easily be enjoyed through a dessert like espresso cake.

The espresso cake is based on an easy and widespread recipe for cake, owing its intense taste to the coffee used (the result is equally good with both espresso or filter coffee) and it gets a fluffy texture because of the beaten egg.  It gets well with morning coffee, but also with an afternoon liquor.

Ingredients :

• 230 ml strong coffee (espresso or filter coffee or a combination can be used)
• 2 tablespoons ground coffee
• 420 gr white all purpose flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 220 butter cut in cubes
• 280gr powdered sugar
• 2 vanilla powders
• 4 large eggs in room temperature (separated)

Making the cake :

• Preheat the oven at 180^οC
• Add the ground coffee to the coffee you're going to use and let it cool 
• Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl
• Work the butter in the mixer until it softens (approximately 1 minute) and continue stirring, adding sugar and vanilla. After four minutes, add the egg yolks one by one, until the batter is finely mixed. 
• Put the mixer in low speed and add the flour mix and the coffee. Start by adding one third of flour, then half of coffee, then some flour, then the rest of the coffee, finishing with the remaining flour. Have in mind that after each addition, the batter should be smooth. 
• In another bowl, hit the egg whites until they form a nice foam. Carefully integrate the whites in the batter.
• Bake for 45-60 minutes, untul its surface cracks. 
• Let it cool before you cut it into pieces.

Tips for the most delicious espresso cake :

• Be careful of the caffeine ! The espresso cake contains 230ml of strong coffee, and the addition of ground coffee raises caffeine contenet even higher. Be careful if you are going to serve it to kids, or use decaf coffee instead. 
• It's crucial for the ingredients to be in room temperature (especialy eggs and butter) in order for the cake to be successful.
• Ιntegrate the eggwhites with the mixture with gentle moves. The air contained in the egg whites will make your cake fluffy, with nice sikly texture. 
• Αν θέλουμε να κάνουμε το κέικ μας πιο ελαφρύ, μπορούμε να παραλείψουμε τον καφέ σε σκόνη – το αποτέλεσμα θα έχει λιγότερο έντονη γεύση και μικρότερη περιεκτικότητα σε καφεΐνη.
• In case you choose to use filter coffee, it's better to use a dark roast, in order to have a cake with intense taste. 
• If you want to be sure that your cake is ready, follow a tip : place and knife in the center of the cake. When taken out, it should be clean, withount remnants of unbaked batter.