Irish Coffee Cake

This recipe makes a moist coffee swirl cake cooked in a bundt tin. If you don’t have one, you can easily make it in a springform tin, buttered and the base lined with baking parchment. The addition of a cream liqueur is optional but really adds an extra special touch to both the cake and icing.

Serves 6–8
255g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
340g caster sugar
6 large eggs
240ml milk
120ml sour cream
370g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp coffee extract
1 tbsp Feeney’s Irish liqueur

For the icing:
150g icing sugar
1–2 tbsp water
2 tbsp coffee extract
1 tbsp Feeney’s Irish liqueur

Grease a 22cm diameter, 2 litre bundt tin and dust it lightly with flour. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4. Beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is light and pale. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until they are all combined. Mix through the milk and sour cream, then sift in the flour and baking powder and fold through until you have a smooth cake batter. Pour two-thirds of the mixture into the prepared tin.

Mix the coffee essence and Irish cream into the remaining batter. Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the batter in the tin and use a knife to marble the mixtures together. Place in the oven to bake for about 55 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before removing the cake from the tin. Allow it to cool completely.

For the icing, whisk together the ingredients in a bowl until smooth and then drizzle it over the cooled cake. Serve in generous slices.