Coffee Sponge Cake

1. Preheat oven at 160°C/320°F.

2. Dissolve espresso powder in hot water. Make sure there is no coffee lumps. Set aside.

3. Separate the eggs, one bowl with egg whites and the other with egg yolks.

4. In the egg yolks bowl, add in the sugar. Mix until well combined or until the colour is slightly pale. Add the oil and then milk, mix until well combined respectively.

5. Add in the espresso coffee mix. Add salt. If you wish to add coffee essence, you can add ½ tsp, but I prefer pure coffee flavour. Mix until well combined.

6. Sift the cake flour in 3 batches. Use a whisk to gently mix the batter. Mix just until the flour disappear, do not over mix. Set aside.

7. In the bowl of egg whites, add cream of tartar. Mix on low speed for few seconds until foamy. Add the sugar in 3 batches. After adding the first batch, increase speed to high and continue mixing. After add the last batch of sugar, mix until stiff peaks formed. It’s important that you reach stiff peaks as this is the key to rise the cake.

8. Add the egg white meringue into the yolk batter in 3 batches. Use a whisk to gently mix just until the white disappear, do not over mix. Mix in a circular motion. Switch to a spatula to scrape the bowl to ensure even mixing.

9. Transfer the batter into a 7x7x3-inch pan, greased and lined with parchment paper. Use a chopsticks or a skewer to do as shown to release trapped air bubbles. Tap the pan on the table few times to further release air bubbles.

10. Bake in preheated oven at 160°C/320°F for about 50-55 min, or until inserted skewer comes out clean.

11. Let the cake cool on cooling rack before slicing the cake.

12. This is cake, I slice into 4 layers so that I want to add more cream frosting in between. Set aside while working on the next step.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a chilled bowl, add the whipping cream. Chill bowl will help thickened up the cream fast and stable. Mix on low speed for few seconds.

2. Add in the cream cheese. Continue mixing on low speed for few seconds, then increase to high speed. Mix until the mixture is stiff, be careful not to over mix. Stop the mixing to check the consistency every 10 seconds. As soon as it reaches stiff, stop the mixing. Transfer about a quarter cream into a piping bag. I am just doing a variation to give the cake some colour contrast. This is optional. Set aside.

3. For the remaining cream, add the espresso coffee mixture. Give it a quick mix, just until combined. Do not over mix as it has already reached stiff earlier. Transfer into a piping bag and time to assemble the cake.

Assemble the cake

1. Get ready the coffee syrup and the 2 flavoured frostings.

2. Chill the cake before trimming the sides.

3. Combined the remaining two flavoured frosting into another piping bag to pipe some deco. I am using tip #869.

4. Cake is ready to serve.