Coffee Soaked Gateau

My mum used to make this cake all the time when I was growing up and occasionally the craving for it rears its head again.  I loved this cake well before I could ever even think of drinking coffee for pleasure.  I’m finally getting this down on the blog rather than scraps of paper that I lose each time I want it!

Serves 12

150g butter
150g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g self raising flour
200g granulated sugar
375ml water
3 tsp instant espresso/coffee granules

– Heat the oven to gas mark 4 and grease and line a 20cm cake tin.
– In a food processor blitz the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
– Add one egg at a time with the motor running, dropping each one down the funnel at the top.
– Do the same with the vanilla.
– Add the flour and blitz until smooth and all combined.
– Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake for 30-45 minutes.
– Leave the cake to cool for 5 minutes in the tin then turn out and place on a plate.  Your plate needs to be more dished than flat, preferably with sides.
– Stab the cake all over with a skewer.
– In a small pan heat the sugar, water and coffee until all the sugar is dissolved.
– Spoon 1/3 of the syrup over the cake as evenly as possible.  Leave for at least 30 minutes.  Then spoon over the next 1/3 of the syrup, leave it for half and hour and then spoon over the final 1/3 of the syrup.  Leave the cake to sit for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
– Serve with whipped cream (or squirty cream if the logistics of taking it into the office present themselves!)