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Vietnamese Coffee Cake with Espresso Buttercream

November 13, 2019 By Phillip @ SouthernFATTY.com 8 Comments

Double the coffee with this rich, coffee-packed cake layered with espresso meringue buttercream frosting. A perfect balance of sweet and savory, this cake recipe can be a morning pick-me-up or cuppa cake closer.

I guess I should actually call this a coffee cake cake, since it isn’t your traditional streusel-topped coffee cake (which is one of my all-time favorite desserts, I may add), but is instead an actual cake that has coffee in it. Much like my morning java routine, this cake packs a bunch with not one, but two cups o’ coffee in the recipe.

If you’ve been following me on the ‘Gram (you have followed my Instagram, right???), you’ll know that I have been trying to share more of my cookbook adventures with y’all. I have a bit of a cookbook collection addiction, I suppose. I don’t think it’s a problem, but I did have to add a new shelf recently. One day, when I actually get the slightest bit organized with a publishing schedule for this blog (going into year 6 in the new year… about time? we’ll see…), I would love to have some bi-weekly features or something.

Post a comment with all of your cookbook recs!
Old and new. It gives me an excuse to just buy more. Research, ya know.

Since I’ve never been one to follow directions well, I usually end up with some sort of twist on the recipes that I end up trying in my own kitchen. This recipe was no exception to that trend. Rob Newton, executive chef at Nashville’s own 21c hotel (which is GORGEOUS) restaurant Gray & Dudley, has a new book, Seeking the South, with a killer Vietnamese Coffee Bundt Cake recipe right in the middle.

I’m gonna be totally honest with you guys. I initially had planned on making this into tiny mini bundt cakes but might have had one cherry whiskey sour too many because I forgot to grease and flour the pans. I got those lil suckers out of the molds with a prayer and a knife, but they weren’t blog photo-ready. No worries, as I ate them for breakfast, but I decided to twist things up with a cake. I won’t say that I did it because I didn’t want to wash the tiny bundt molds, but you just can’t go wrong with a cake.

Vietnamese Coffee Cake with Espresso Buttercream
Yield: 8 servings

Vietnamese Coffee Cake with Espresso Buttercream

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Additional Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Double the coffee with this rich, coffee-packed cake layered with espresso meringue buttercream frosting. A perfect balance of sweet and savory, this cake recipe can be a morning pick-me-up or cuppa cake closer. -- From SouthernFatty.com.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1/2 cup coffee, strongly brewed & cooled
  • 2 teaspoons coffee extract
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3 eggs, separated to yolks and whites
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
  • 3 cups flour, all-purpose
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 16 tablespoons butter, unsalted
  • 1/2 cup sugar, granulated
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

Espresso Buttercream

  • 1/4 cup (75 g) eggs, whites only
  • 3/4 cup (150 g)sugar, granulated
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar, granulated
  • 3 tablespoons (40 g) water
  • 1 teaspoon (5 g) coffee extract
  • 16 tablespoons (227 g) butter, unsalted, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt

Instructions

Cake

  1. Heat oven to 350 F.
  2. Butter and flour two 6-inch cake pans well. Set aside.
  3. Combine cooled coffee with coffee extract, buttermilk, egg yolks (keeping whites separated), and vanilla.
  4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt into its own bowl.
  5. In a stand mixer with a paddle, beat butter until smooth.
  6. Add sugars (both types can be mixed together) in batches while mixing.
  7. Mix on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes.
  8. Add alternating batches of the flour mix with the wet mix.
  9. Ensure mixture is combined well and smooth.
  10. In a different bowl, beat egg whites only with a pinch of sugar until just stiff peaks.
  11. Fold the egg whites into the mixed batter.
  12. Transfer evenly to pans.
  13. Bake until a knife comes just out clean, about 45 minutes. Tent the tops with foil if needed to prevent burning before center is cooked. Do not overcook.
  14. Remove to cool completely.

Buttercream

  1. Place the egg whites and 2 T sugar in a mixer bowl with a whisk attachment and set aside.
  2. Combine the 3/4 cup sugar and water together in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
  3. Heat until candy thermometer reaches 220 F. Keep heating the sugar syrup while starting the mixer wiith egg whites on medium speed.
  4. The goal is to have just stiff peaks of the egg whites when the sugar syrup reaches 248 F. If the whites are stiff prior to sugar reaching this temperature, reduce to lowest speed and wait for sugar syrup to reach temperature.
  5. When sugar syrup reaches 248 F, remove immediately from the heat and reduce the mixer to low speed.
  6. Carefully pour the sugar syrup into the mixing egg whites. Aim for where the whites meet the bowl, avoiding the sides of the bowl and avoiding the whisk itself as to not splash hot sugar.
  7. The whites will expand and fluff. Add the coffee extract. Turn up the mixer speed to medium/medium-high and mix until the now meringue bowl is cooled to room temperature to touch, 15-20 minutes. (Too warm and the butter will melt and you will have to chill and re-whip, etc.).
  8. Add butter in pieces while continuing to mix. Add salt. Continue to whip vigourously until smooth.

Finishing

  1. Cut cake into layers as desired.
  2. Fill between with buttercream.
  3. Frost with buttercream and decorate as desired.
  4. Enjoy! Find more recipes on SouthernFatty.com.
  5. Share any pictures by tagging @southernfatty / #southernfatty

Notes

Recipe inspired by Rob Newton's Seeking the South Vietnamese Coffee Bundt Cake. Find the cookbook linked below.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Seeking the South Cookbook
    Seeking the South Cookbook
  • Authentic Vietnamese Coffee, VN Roaster Butter Roasted Coffee, 12 Ounce
    Authentic Vietnamese Coffee, VN Roaster Butter Roasted Coffee, 12 Ounce
  • Pure Coffee Extract, Nielsen Massey
    Pure Coffee Extract, Nielsen Massey
  • Vanilla Bean Paste for Baking
    Vanilla Bean Paste for Baking
  • Cake Pan Round 6 x 2 Inches by Fat Daddio's
    Cake Pan Round 6 x 2 Inches by Fat Daddio's
  • ThermoPro TP15 Waterproof Cooking Thermometer
    ThermoPro TP15 Waterproof Cooking Thermometer

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 470Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 30mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 1gSugar: 31gProtein: 6g
© Phillip @ SouthernFATTY.com
Cuisine: American / Category: Confections / Sweets

Filed Under: Confections / Sweets Tagged With: buttercream, coffee, coffee cake, cookbook, espresso, italian meringue, Rob Newton

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply to M Cancel reply

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  1. Ronak Mehta

    September 1, 2020 at 11:43 pm

    Baked this cake for my birthday and it was an absolute hit! So moist and tasty. Thank you for doing what you do

    Reply
    • Phillip @ SouthernFATTY.com

      September 8, 2020 at 8:13 am

      Love that! Thanks for sharing 🙂

      -Phillip
      Have a photo to share? Tag us on social using @southernfatty / #southernfatty!

      Reply
  2. MB

    May 9, 2020 at 9:30 am

    What can I sub for coffee extract? I can’t find it anywhere.

    Reply
  3. M

    January 15, 2020 at 5:40 am

    What did you accent the cake with? This looks amazing, but I bet it would be unbelievable with some chocolate. Viennese coffee is a favorite of mine, but it’s better as a mocha.

    Reply
  4. Jeva Jao

    December 30, 2019 at 2:11 am

    Tremendous work! That shows the effort you put to write this article. Keep up the good work.

    Reply
    • Phillip @ SouthernFATTY.com

      December 31, 2019 at 11:20 am

      Cheers!

      -Phillip
      Have a photo to share? Tag us on social using @southernfatty / #southernfatty!

      Reply
  5. Harry James

    December 24, 2019 at 12:27 am

    Excellent services by them.

    Reply
    • Phillip @ SouthernFATTY.com

      December 31, 2019 at 11:21 am

      Great!

      Reply

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