I made an easy and delicious all-in-one coffee sponge cake in 30 minutes

Coffee enthusiasts will adore this cake recipe from Charlotte Oates of Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen as it’s not only delicious but also incredibly easy to whip up.

To make the process even simpler, I made it using the Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker XL stand mixer.

Whether you’re a regular baker looking for an upgrade or are inspired from time to time to bake like me, a stand mixer is a must-have tool – and this one did not disappoint.

Kenwood has established a long-held reputation for producing well-built and durable kitchen appliances with their Titanium Chef Baker XL being one of the latest stand mixers launched by the brand.

Upon unboxing the mixer, I found that the appliance comes with four mixing accessories, the K Beater which is ideal for making cakes, cookies, pastry, and frosting, the whisk is perfect for cream, batters, and eggs, the dough hook which is for mixing dough, and the creaming beater.

The appliance also comes with a splashguard (a plastic lid that fixes to the top of the mixer and allows you to mix in ingredients without any mess), a spatula for scooping out mixtures and two stainless steel bowls – one five litres and the other seven litres.

This large stand mixer gives an industrial yet chic aesthetic with its titanium design. Those looking to add a pop of colour to their mixer can change the top cover to a different shade. 

Retailing currently at £529.99 down from £689.99, this stand mixer is quite the investment, but it is built to last.

Aside from washing the attachments, the Titanium XL arrived all set up and ready to go. I just had to push down the leaver at the back to tilt the head back to insert an attachment before pulling on the leaver to put it back down into place.

Normally when making a cake I would have to spend time weighing out all the ingredients before getting started, but this stand mixer has built-in scales so it saved me a lot of time. It will weigh only when the machine is on, and then when you start mixing, it’ll turn into a timer, which I think is the best thing about this mixer.

Ingredients 

For the cake

Three tablespoons instant coffee powder (or coffee granules ground to a powder)

200g plain flour

Two and a half teaspoons of baking powder

220g soft light brown sugar

220g margarine or butter (butter must be soft at room temperature)

Four medium eggs

Two teaspoons milk

One eight of a teaspoon salt

For the buttercream

200g butter – (soft at room temperature)

400g icing sugar

One quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract

Eight teaspoons of instant coffee powder or granules

Four teaspoons boiling water

Method 

I started by preheating my oven to 160C and lined two 20cm round sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.

Next, it was time to combine all of the cake ingredients in the mixer – the first test of any good stand mixer is if it can do a good job combining a cake mixture.

I used the K-beater attachment and turned the smooth dial to the lowest setting. I didn’t feel any resistance from the dial. As I twisted it, the machine reacted fast. This means there’s very little distinction between speed settings, so you’ll need to watch how much you twist it.

When beating most mixers will knock some flour up the sides, so I often have to get a spatula involved. However, the Titanium XL was really neat and contained with its beating.

I then split the mixture between the two prepared tins and baked for 30 minutes – until a skewer inserted in the centre came out clean.

Once the cakes were cooked, I removed them from the oven and left them to cool in their tins for about 10 minutes before removing them from the tins and onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cakes were cooling, it was time to make the coffee buttercream. I started by mixing the instant coffee powder with the boiling water and set it aside to cool.

For this step, I switched to the creaming beater attachment and used the splashguard to avoid the icing sugar going everywhere.

For the buttercream, I combined the butter and vanilla extract on a low speed until soft. Then I added the icing sugar and beat on a low speed until combined with the butter and smooth.

With the open window of the splashguard, I was able to gradually add the coffee mixture, one teaspoon at a time without having to stop the mixer.

I made sure to check the consistency of the buttercream after – it should be soft enough that you could spread it onto a slice of bread. If it is too firm, then add a little milk (no more than one teaspoon at a time) until it is your desired consistency. However, I found that I didn’t need to add milk.

I finished up the cake by adding a layer of buttercream to the first sponge, then placed the second sponge on top, adding another layer of buttercream before serving.

With the help of the mixer and incredible recipe, I think this is one of the best cakes I’ve made in a while, even if I do say so myself.

Raved about online, many reviews claimed that this is a well-made machine, which packs a lot of power. However, the downside they voiced, and I can agree with too, is the large size of the appliance.

So, is this Kenwood Chef Titanium XL stand mixer worth it? If you’re an avid baker but lack the time to faff around with weighing out ingredients, this is a fantastic option as it’s like having a helping hand. 

However, If you’re just after a simple stand mixer, you’re best opting for one of their lower-priced mixers like their kMix Stand Mixer which retails for £237 currently down from £299.99.

Alternatively, if households are after something smaller, simple to use and more wallet-friendly, Express.co.uk previously tested out the Morphy Richards MixStar which retails for £139.13 currently on Amazon.