Coffee caramel & pecan cake
- Servings:
- Makes one 3 layer 6” cake or one 2 layer 8” cake
- Preparation time:
- 35 mins + cooling time
- Cooking time:
- 20-25 minutes
For anyone who’s new to baking this is a great cake to add to your repertoire. It is super impressive and at the same time super easy. Give it a go today.
Ingredients checklist
Method
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 160°C (fan) and line your cake tins with baking parchment.
Step 2
To make the sponge, cream together 250g of the butter and 250g of the caster sugar then add the eggs and mix until combined.
Step 3
Add in the flour and baking powder, followed by two of the espressos, and mix until no lumps remain.
Step 4
Gently stir in the roughly chopped pecans and divide the batter evenly between the two or three cake tins, depending on how many you’re using. Use the back of the wooden spoon to level.
Step 5
Bake the sponges for 20-25 minutes until golden and springy to touch and allow to cool completely. If they aren’t springy, put back into the oven and check again after 5 minutes.
Step 6
Whilst the sponges are cooling, make your caramel by heating the remaining 150g of caster sugar and water together in a saucepan over a medium-high heat until boiling, without stirring – the sugar will naturally dissolve. Try not to agitate the caramel as it cooks and only swirl if necessary, do not stir with a spoon.
Step 7
Once the caramel has become amber in colour (around 5 minutes) and the bubbles are small, pour in the double cream, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon as you do so. It will bubble up and create a lot of steam, so be cautious. Once combined, stir in the salt and transfer the caramel to a bowl to cool.
Step 8
Once the caramel is cool, rinse the mixing bowl and spoon to make your buttercream. Combine the remaining 120g butter, icing sugar, final espresso in the bowl and cream together until smooth.
Step 9
Save 60g caramel for the drip, then assemble your cake by sandwiching each layer with the buttercream and a spoonful of caramel spread on top before lightly coating the top and sides with the remaining buttercream to achieve a naked cake effect, scraping off any excess with the knife. If your remaining caramel has thickened up, pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds before pouring on top of the cake and teasing down the sides to create drips using the tip of your knife.
Step 10
Sprinkle some roughly chopped and whole pecans around the top edge and serve.
Do you have a Fab Recipe?
The join in the fun and share your wonderous flour-based creations with us. Your recipes needn't be the most elaborate but it helps if it is interesting, simple and quick to make. And naturally very tasty. Once your recipe is approved, we'll publish it here on Fab Recipes and we'll tweet it for you as well, three times. So go ahead and send us your recipe.