Coffee and Almond Crunch Cake

 

 

Some days, you just have to sit on the floor and eat cake.

 

Coffee and Almond Crunch Cake

adapted from here

 

For the Cake:

170g unsalted butter

170g caster sugar

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100g ground almonds

2 heaped teaspoons instant espresso granules dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water then cooled

100g self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

icing sugar, to dust

For the CrunchTopping:

60g plain flour

40g demerara sugar
Pinch of fine sea salt

40g cold unsalted butter, diced
40g sliced natural almonds

Make the Crunch Topping:
Put the flour, butter, sugar and salt in a bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles course breadcrumbs. Add the sliced almonds, toss to mix and set aside.

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C. Butter and line the sides and base of a tall-sided 20cm cake tin with a removable base. I like to line the sides of the tin so the paper comes past the edges for extra protection from the heat of the oven..

Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy. It will take about 5 minutes. Beat the eggs in, a little at a time. Beat well until it is fully incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. With a spatula, fold in the ground almonds, then the espresso. Now, sift the flour and baking powder together and fold this through the wet mixture until just combined.

Spread the mixture into the cake tin and level with a spatula. Sprinkle the crunch topping evenly over the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before unmoulding on to a wire rack, peeling away the baking paper. When completely cooled, dust with the icing sugar.

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