Marbled Coffee Butter Cake

Sometimes I like to pinch stuff from the office. Don't worry, I don't pinch the stationery or expensive stuff. I pinch the edibles or rather the drinkable. As a matter of fact there is nothing edible in the office. You want to eat or nibble something, you have to supply your own. This was what I pinched.

This is my parents' favorite drink. It's convenient and it's tasty. I find that one sachet is too thin for me, so if I want to drink this, I must down two sachets at one go. But I don't drink this often because I find it too sweet. Besides, I prefer black coffee, no sugar.

My original intention was to bake a coffee cotton cake but somehow I got distracted and this solitary sachet of coffee was left all alone in the pantry. 

One weekend, I decided to put the coffee mix to good use.  I used my favorite butter cake recipe and instead of baking a round cake, I decided to bake in a loaf pan. I have two small loaf pans and I thought it would be great to bake two smaller loaves which makes it easier to share (as in one for me and one for the rest of you hah..hah...).

Once I made the batter, I isolated 1/4 to mix with the coffee mix. But when I filled one pan with the plain batter, it looked as if I would not have enough for two. So I dumped everything into one pan and then dolloped the coffee batter on top. I used a butter knife to marble the batter.

It wasn't well executed and I realized that I could have filled 2 pans after all. But it was too late. My cake puffed up way above the rim of the pan. But it was alright, no harm done.

The smell was wonderful, buttery with a rich coffee aroma. I knew this was going to be a good cake. Once the cake was fully cooled, I sliced into it and noted that the knife glided smoothly into the cake. To me, this is an indicator that I have a cake that is moist and soft.

I'm thinking of my next coffee butter cake but this time I will double the amount of coffee mix for a more intense experience. 

Marbled Coffee Butter Cake

Recipe source : Adapted from here

Ingredients :

- 250g butter, softened

- 70g fine sugar

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 4 egg yolks

- 200g self raising flour (sifted)

- 4 egg whites

- 70g fine sugar
- 1 sachet Nescafe 3-in-1 + 1 tsp instant coffee + 2 tablespoons hot water (make into a paste)

Method :
1. Make the egg white mixture first (to save having the wash the beaters hah..hah..). Whisk the egg whites and gradually add sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks. Set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.

3. Add egg yolks one at a time and mix well.

4. Add flour in three additions and fold into the butter using a spatula. 

5. Fold in 1/3 of egg whites into the batter mixture. Mix well and fold in the remaining egg whites.
6. Remove 1/4 of the batter and mix with the coffee paste.
7. Pour plain batter into a loaf pan and dollop the coffee batter on top.
8. Using a butter knife or skewer, swirl the coffee batter.

9. Bake at 160C for 50 minutes. (I tented the pan after 40 minutes to prevent over browning).