April 2019 - tastebotanical

Latte Cake

Latte Cake – a mild coffee cake topped with Salted Caramel

I make a lot of coffee cakes – everyone in my household loves coffee cake – but this Latte Cake with Salted Caramel drizzle is a bit different. It has a slightly milder coffee flavour and the salted caramel of the drizzle cuts through the sweetness of the icing.

The inspiration, and main taste consultant, for this cake is my daughter. Whenever we go for coffee, she always chooses a Salted Caramel Latte, hot in winter and iced in summer. She suggested that the flavours that she likes in her drink would also be good in a cake. And this cake shows she was right!

As with many of my cakes, this is a very straightforward, basic loaf cake recipe which has allowed me to play with the flavours. The cake is a mild coffee flavour, topped with coffee buttercream. The thing that makes it particularly good is the salted caramel drizzle that goes on top. This gives a real punch of sweet and saltiness which lifts the whole cake. One of the things that I love about cooking is the way very simple additions or twists to a recipe can transform it into something much, much better.

Home-made Salted Caramel

If you have never tried making your own Salted Caramel, I would really encourage you to give it a go. It is really quick and easy and is so much more delicious – sweet, creamy, buttery – than any shop-bought, pre-made versions. It is clearly not the healthiest recipe but I firmly believe that everyone needs a treat every now and then and a little goes a long way. As well as using it as a cake drizzle, Salted Caramel is great as a sauce with ice-cream or spread over the top of a cheesecake.

Get creative with those loaf cake flavours!

This Latte Cake is one of many loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for Earl Grey Cake, Cherry and Almond, Lemon Drizzle, Blood Orange, Lime and Coconut, Rum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

Latte Cake

Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 30
Cook Time: 45
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
Category: Cake
Method: Baking
Cuisine: English

Print Recipe

Description

This easy Latte Cake has a mild coffee flavour and is topped with a salted caramel drizzle. Inspired by Salted Caramel Lattes in coffee shops everywhere!

Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

75 ml milk or cream
3 teaspoons instant coffee
175 g butter
175 g light brown muscavado sugar
3 eggs
175 g self-raising flour

For the icing

125 g butter
125 g icing sugar
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 teaspoons hot water

For the caramel:

125 g butter
250 g light brown muscavado sugar
125 g double cream
Salt to taste

Instructions

Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
Warm the milk or cream to scalding point. This is when you gently heat it and then stop heating just before it boils. Add the 3 teaspoons of instant coffee and stir to combine. Allow to cool slightly while you get on with the rest of the cake.
Cream the butter with the sugar. (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture. If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
Finally, add the milk or cream and coffee mixture and stir to combine.
Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven.
Leave the cake in the tin on a cooling rack to cool completely before removing.
While the cake is cooking, make the icing by mixing creaming together the butter and icing sugar. Mix the 2 teaspoons of instant coffee with 2 teaspoons of hot water and then add to the icing mixture. Stir to combine. When the cake is cool, spread the icing over the top.
While the cake is cooking, make the salted caramel by melting the butter in a small pan and then adding the muscavado sugar. Heat gently until the sugar is dissolved. Add the double cream and continue to heat for another two or three minutes. Remove from the heat and add salt to taste. Allow to cool slightly before drizzling over the icing.

Keywords: latte, cake, coffee, caramel, salted caramel

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Earl Grey Cake

Cherry and Almond Cake

Ginger and Pear Cake

Baked Eggs with Cheese

These Baked Eggs with Cheese are so easy to make

If you are looking for easy, nutritious comfort food which can be whipped up quickly for breakfast, lunch or supper, then look no further than these Baked Eggs with Cheese. I think that this recipe is a brilliant example of the miraculous transformation that you can achieve by cooking familiar ingredients in a slightly different way. Somehow, oven-baking makes two eggs and a bit of cheese into a sustaining and filling dish which is also a bit of a treat. It is absolutely what I want to eat on a lazy weekend morning, particularly after a late night, or when I get home exhausted after a day at work.

Baked Eggs with Cheese is also one of those versatile, flexible dishes which it is always handy to know. They are a vegetarian but fall into the “vegetarian-by-stealth” category in that that non-vegetarians do not seem to notice the lack of meat. Also, you can make as many portions as you need according to how many people you need to feed. So you can have a meal-for-one or a meal for ten (or more!) according to your requirements.

Variations on Baked Eggs with Cheese

This recipe is perfect for adaptation according to your particular taste preferences and available ingredients. I love recipes like this as I enjoy experimenting with different flavour combinations. The basic recipe uses eggs, cheese and herbs. In this version, I use cheddar and chives but there are so many other cheese and herb combinations that you could try. Other good combinations are:

mozzarella and basil
goat’s cheese and dill
ricotta and thyme
feta and oregano
blue cheese and chervil

Other easy Cheese recipes

I love eating cheese just as it is. I will eat a few cubes with a glass of wine or put a slice or two in a sandwich or on top of a cracker. I also think it is a fantastic cooking ingredient. What better than savoury, melted gooey cheese to add that extra dimension of comforting deliciousness to your savoury snack or simple supper recipes?

In addition to this recipe for Baked Eggs, here are some of my other favourite cheesy recipes.

Cheese Biscuits with Chilli – these crisp savoury biscuits (cookies) are easy to make and easy to eat!
Cheese Muffins with Chilli Jam – easy savoury muffins given a punch of flavour from sweet chilli jam are great on their own or as an accompaniment to home-made soup
Marinated Feta with Chilli, Garlic and Herbs – an easy, make-ahead snack recipe
Feta Quiche with Roasted Peppers – an easy quiche combining salty feta with sweet roasted peppers
Filo Triangles with Feta Cheese and Mixed Herb filling – crisp filo triangles filled with a herby feta filling
Macaroni Cheese – a luxurious twist on a classic supper dish this recipe contains a layer of caramelised onions and is topped with crispy breadcrumbs and melted cheese

Other easy snack recipes

I love savoury snacks. Whether I am box-set watching in front of the television or having a party, my evening is not complete without them. I will sometimes open a packet of crisps or a jar of olives. However, if I am thinking ahead, I will try and make some home-made nibbles.

Making your own snacks is often healthier and cheaper than buying ready-made snacks. They are also really delicious. I try and keep them fairly healthy, without compromising on taste. Therefore, I aim to keep them relatively low fat and with low salt levels compared to shop-bought snacks.

All my snack recipes can be made in advance and most of them will store for a few days. If you are a big fan of cheese, like me, you might like my crisp Cheese Biscuits or my Marinated Feta Cheese. My Moroccan-style Dukkah is a seed mix which can be eaten as a snack or sprinkled on hummus or salads. Most of my snack recipes are vegetarian. However, I have a few others such as my quick and easy Smoked Salmon pate recipe.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Recipe for Baked Eggs with Cheese