Since the first set of mini bundts turned out so well, I was enthusiastic to use the mini bundt pans again. I also wanted to try another recipe from the Kiss My Bundt cookbook, since the Red Velvet mini bundts were so delicious. The Cappuccino cake recipe caught my eye in no small part because of a favorite cappuccino muffin that was sold at a local breakfast/lunch place in town (which sadly, went out of business years ago). I still periodically crave those muffins. So I had high hopes for this recipe.The recipe recommended cream cheese frosting as the topping for this cake, and being a fan of cream cheese frosting in general, and especially on the aforementioned Red Velvet mini bundts, I decided that it was an excellent suggestion; however, I wanted to mix it up a bit and decided to flavor the frosting. My initial thought was to make a Kahlua cream cheese frosting, but then I hit upon an even better idea: Frangelico. Hazelnut coffee is my favorite, so a cappuccino cake with a hazelnut-flavored frosting seemed perfect.
The cake was very good, just not quite as totally awesome as I had hoped. I definitely recommend it, especially with the Frangelico cream cheese frosting!
Here's the recipe:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup whole milk*
5 tablespoons instant coffee granules**
* I'm pretty sure I just made this with 1 percent milk. Though if we had any half and half, I may have used some of that to get the milk closer to 4 percent.
** If you are at all coffee snobbish and pooh-pooh the idea of instant coffee (hey, I'm not judging you), you could definitely try substituting some of the milk (as much as half?) with brewed and cooled coffee. I'm considering trying that the next time I make this recipe myself.
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2) Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
3) Beat butter with an electric mixer until creamy, about 2 minutes.
4) Slowly add the sugar. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is fluffy, about 2 minutes.
5) Crack eggs in a separate bowl and add to the batter one at at time. Then beat on medium speed for additional 2 minutes.
6) Add vanilla to milk. Then dissolve the coffee granules in the vanilla-milk mixture.
7) Beginning and ending with the flour, mix 1/3 of the flour into the wet mixture at low speed, then 1/2 the milk, alternating until all ingredients are mixed.
8) Transfer batter to cake pan(s) that have been coated with a baker's cooking spray that includes flour (or grease and flour the pans), filling until the cavity is about 3/4 full.
9) Bake cake(s) until an inserted toothpick or cake tester comes out clean--about 40 minutes for a regular-sized bundt pan and 18 - 22 minutes for mini bundts.
Frangelico Cream Cheese Frosting recipe:
4 oz unsalted butter softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel, but in this case, I think the tanginess of it worked less well with the Frangelico than regular cream cheese would.)
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 - 4 tablespoons of Frangelico (or other liqueur of your choice)
1) With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and the cream cheese until soft and completely smooth, at least 2 minutes
2) Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, making sure to scrape down any frosting stuck to the sides of the bowl.
3) Add vanilla extract.
4) Mix on a medium speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
5) Starting with a tablespoon at a time, add Frangelico to frosting, until you get your desired level of Frangelico flavor. I think I used about 3 1/2 tablespoons, and still thought it could use a little more, but didn't want to overwhelm the other folks who would be having the cake.
Your frosting will be a bit thinner with the additional liquid, so make sure you are paying attention to that as well as you add the Frangelico.
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