Coffee Cake

This is a gluten-free coffee cake I made recently for my birthday. It’s decorated with a vintage-style ruffle design, and topped with figs and sugared grapes.

The cake base is my go-to gluten-free butter cake recipe, one I’ve shared countless times before. As usual, there are some baking notes:

• This is a butter-based cake recipe involving the creaming method. To incorporate air and yield a light cake, it is important to cream the butter and sugar for at least five minutes on high speed. Do not rush this step. And I like to add a small amount oil to keep the cake tender.
• Since the butter is at room temperature, the eggs should also be at room temperature. If you forget to take your eggs out of the fridge, it is not a big deal – the cake will turn out just as well – but it simply allows the butter and eggs to properly emulsify and avoids curdling.
• This specific blend and ratio of flours is pivotal in achieving that light yet moist texture. It is very important for the white rice flour to be super fine. Some of the products in Australia supermarkets are not finely ground but course and gritty, so just be careful. I prefer to develop recipes with the individual flours rather than using a store-bought GF flour blend, because each brand has a different mix of flours and may not necessarily work. Please don’t be intimidated by the amount of ingredients.
• The xanthan gum is also important for providing structure, which is lacking without gluten.
• For the coffee, you want to use a very strong espresso. I like to mix around 6 tsp of instant coffee with 70ml of boiling water. This should be enough coffee for the cake and buttercream.

The frosting is a classic American-style buttercream made simply with butter and icing sugar. Despite being quite sweet, it is still my favourite frosting because it reminds me of the cakes I grew up with. To achieve this ruffle design, I used three piping tips: a small open star tip, small french tip, and leaf tip (similar to the Ateco 69). I also cut a small corner off a piping bag to make a small round tip for adding extra details.

The sugared fruit is optional, but it makes a lovely edible decoration that complements the cake’s warm brown tones. I used this method by Gail from Teak and Thyme, which involves brushing the fruit with simple syrup and then coating in sugar.

The cake can be stored at room temperature without the fruit, as long as it isn’t too hot. The cake can also be kept in the fridge, but make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving for the best texture. It’s best to add the fruit just before serving.

Gluten-free Coffee Cake

Makes one 3-layer 15cm cake.

Ingredients

Coffee Cake

• 170g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 170g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 60g almond meal
• 90g white rice flour
• 30g potato starch
• 15g tapioca starch
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 3-4 tbsp strong coffee

Sugared Fruit

• 50g caster sugar
• 50g water
• Fruit of your choice (e.g. grapes, pear, plums)
• 50g caster sugar, for coating

Coffee Buttercream

• 250g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 450g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 tbsp strong coffee

Method

Coffee Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line three 15cm cake tins with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed until light and pale in colour, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Add the vanilla extract.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the almond meal, rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, baking powder and xanthan gum. Add this to the butter and sugar mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the coffee, and mix on medium-low speed until fluffy and a smooth batter has formed, about 30 seconds.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake tins. Bake for 22-25 minutes. When done, the cakes should be springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in tins for about 20 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Sugared Fruit

1. In a small microwave safe bowl, combine the sugar and water. Microwave for about 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the sugar has dissovled. Allow the syrup the cool for about 10 minutes.
2. Brush the fruit generously with the syrup, and place on a wire rack with a tray underneath to allow the excess to drip off. Let the fruit dry for about 20 minutes, until the surface feels sticky.
3. Place the remaining sugar in a shallow bowl. Coat and roll the fruit in the sugar, and set aside until ready to assemble.

Coffee Buttercream

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until light and pale in colour, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the icing sugar gradually, about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well in between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and coffee, a tablespoon at a time, to reach the desired consistency. Beat on high speed for a 3 minutes until light and fluffy. To remove any large air bubbles, beat the frosting on low speed for about 1 minute.

Assembly

1. Trim and level cakes with a serrated knife or cake leveller.
2. Spread a a small amount of buttercream onto your serving plate, then place your first layer of cake onto the plate (the buttercream helps the cake remain in place).
3. Spread a generous amount of buttercream onto the cake, then add the next layer of cake. Repeat until you have used up all the cake layers.
4. Spread a thin layer of buttercream around the sides and all over the cake to create a crumb coat. Place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until the crumb coat is firm to the touch.
5. Use the remaining buttercream to frost the cake and create ruffles.
6. Decorate with the sugared fruit.