I wasn’t always a coffee drinker, so when I started dabbling I was drawn to the sweet drinks. Fast forward to now where I typically like plain coffee, but the iced caramel macchiato will always have my heart. This moist and buttery cake is inspired by that drink and the flavor combo is so good in cake form!
I distinctly remember the first time I tried a cup of coffee. I was a sophomore in college and was at the first day of my internship. 2 hours into training and I knew I was not going to make it in the corporate world without some help. I wandered to the coffee station and made a coffee consisting of 90% milk and sugar and about 10% coffee. My love of coffee since then has become a basic necessity (toddler mom life!!) but enjoying coffee in cake form is heaven!
Recipe tips:
- Pans: I love these Nordic cake pans. They are heavy duty and bake the cakes evenly every time. For this recipe you can use either 8 or 9 inch pans for this recipe.
- Frosting: This frosting is super interesting because it’s a cooked frosting. Typical frosting is either a Swiss meringue using cooked egg whites or softened butter creamed with powdered sugar. For this recipe you will melt the butter and brown sugar together and cook on the stove the dissolve the sugar granules. This is a super important step because if you don’t cook the frosting long enough your frosting will be grainy.
- Coffee: This recipe calls for instant coffee, but if you’d prefer you can use instant espresso (I would start with half the amount and add more if you want!) 4 teaspoons of instant coffee gives this cake a light coffee flavor, but if you’d like more feel free to add in 1 additional teaspoon at a time until it tastes the way you’d like. Remember to dissolve the instant coffee in a liquid, preferably whole milk, before adding to the frosting. I also like to sprinkle some on top of the cake to give a pop of coffee flavor 🙂
If you’re looking for other cake recipes, click here! This cake can seem intimidating because it is layered. Let me tell you, the yellow, buttery cake with the caramel coffee frosting is so worth it! If the idea of piping frosting scares you, you can easy use a spatula or spoon to swirl the frosting onto the cake. If you end up trying the recipe, please let me know your thoughts in the comments 🙂
Caramel Macchiato Butter Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk room temperature
For the frosting:
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
- ½ cup whole milk
- 4 tsp instant coffee can add 1-2 tsp more if you prefer a stronger coffee flavor
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
Optional garnish:
- 2 tsp instant coffee
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350° and grease and flour 2 8 inch cake pans and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. While the mixer is on low, add in the eggs one at a time, then the vegetable oil and vanilla and mix until combined.
- With the mixer on a low speed, add in the flour, baking powder, salt and buttermilk. Mix until just combined. Evenly distribute the batter between the two cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until you stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans for 15 minutes before turning out onto a cookie rack and cooling completely.
For the frosting:
- Warm the milk in the microwave for 20 seconds. Stir in the instant coffee and set aside. In a medium pot melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring continually. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes then remove from heat. Stir in the milk and return to the stove to boil for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and stir in the salt and vanilla extract. Let this mixture cool for 10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl sift the powdered sugar. Poor the mixture from the stove over top. Beat with a hand held mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) until smooth. If you would like to thin the frosting out, add 1 additional tablespoon of room temperature milk until it reaches desired consistency.
For assembly:
- Use a sharp serrated knife to trim the domes off the top of the cake and level them out. Place one layer down and add about ¾ cup of frosting on top. Evenly spread the frosting out and then top with the second layer. Set aside about 1 cup of frosting for decorating, and spread remaining evenly onto the top and sides of the cake. Scoop the remaining frosting into a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice (I used a wilton 1A round tip) and pipe design as desired. If you'd like sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of instant coffee around the edge of the piped icing. Slice and serve!
Kellie
Is that a typo with the quantity for the buttermilk? Teaspoon?