Mary Berry’s coffee cake recipe is topped with indulgent praline that takes it to the next level. It’s made up of a rich coffee sponge, smooth buttercream and crunchy homemade praline, so it’s extra flavourful, crunchy and moreish.
The full recipe takes between 30 minutes to one hour to prepare and bake, and serves 10 to 12 people. Sharing the recipe online, the BBC said: “Mary’s coffee cake is a special occasion cake with its praline crunch! It’s indulgent, bittersweet, impressive and (shhh) easy. You can always skip the praline if you would like a more everyday cake. You can even smuggle in a few walnuts!”
Mary Berry’s coffee and praline cake recipe
Ingredients
One tbsp coffee granules
Four large free-range eggs
225g baking spread or softened unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
225g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
One tsp baking powder
For the praline
100g granulated sugar
75g shelled hazelnuts
For the coffee buttercream
One tbsp coffee granules
125g unsalted butter, softened
225g icing sugar
Method
Set the oven to 180C (160C for fan ovens) or Gas Mark four. Lightly coat two deep, loose-based round cake tins measuring 20cm (eight inches) in diameter with grease, then cover the base of each with a sheet of baking parchment.
Stir the coffee granules into one tablespoon of freshly boiled water until dissolved. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, baking spread, caster sugar, self-raising flour, baking powder and the dissolved coffee. Beat with an electric whisk until the batter is smooth and uniform. Distribute the mixture equally between the prepared tins, smoothing the tops with a spatula.
Place in the oven and bake for approximately thirty minutes, or until the sponges are well risen and have started to pull away from the tin edges. Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and leave them to cool completely.
For the praline, prepare a baking tray by lining it with baking parchment. In a saucepan, combine the sugar with four tablespoons of water and warm over a gentle heat, stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved to form a clear syrup. Stop stirring, increase the heat, and let the syrup boil until it reaches a pale golden colour. Make sure you handle this with extreme caution, as boiling sugar can cause severe burns.
Add the hazelnuts, swirling the pan to ensure they are coated in the syrup. Quickly pour the mixture onto the prepared tray and allow it to cool and harden completely.
To prepare the buttercream, dissolve the coffee in one tablespoon of boiling water. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add the icing sugar and dissolved coffee, continuing to beat until the mixture becomes light, fluffy and smooth.
Once the praline has fully set, break it into chunks and finely chop it on a wooden board.
Place one sponge, bottom-side up, on a serving plate. Either pipe or spread half the buttercream over the surface, then scatter with half of the chopped praline. Position the second sponge on top and cover with the remaining buttercream. Finish by sprinkling over the rest of the praline.