Vienna Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is delivered in its purest form, rich from butter and egg yolks, fluffed with a cloud of egg whites. Swirling throughout, it’s infused with a wisp of pure coffee extract and a splash of pure vanilla, then finished with a luscious coffee glaze.

I stumbled across this recipe in one of Mom’s old cookbooks. As sometimes happens with older recipes there were a few missing details. Doing a deep dive, I found a large volume of variations on this cake. The simplicity of the version I started with, proved to be the most intriguing.

Similar to other coffee cakes it boasts a base of butter creamed with sugar. Then much like a pound cake, half a dozen egg yolks are beaten into the butter and sugar. Flour sifted with kosher salt and baking powder, for lift, are added along with milk, pure vanilla extract and pure coffee extract. Then to add volume, stiffly beaten egg whites are folded into the batter.

Scoop the batter into a classic Bundt pan and bake until golden in color.

To add another layer flavor, a glaze made with powdered sugar, pure vanilla and coffee extracts plus a generous pour of espresso is spooned over the golden cake.

This delightful cake delivers on that intoxicating essence of coffee, in a subtle, delectable way.

Vienna Coffee Cake

For the cake:

This cake bakes at a slightly lower temperature.

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

6 extra-large eggs, separated

2-¾ cups sifted flour (measured after sifting)

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch for the egg whites

2 teaspoons baking powder

6 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon pure coffee extract

For the coffee glaze:

2 cups sifted powder sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon pure coffee extract

2 to 4 tablespoons espresso or strong coffee, room temperature

For the cake:

Grease and flour a 10 to 12 cup Bundt pan, making certain all areas are covered. Preheat the oven to 345-degrees. Cream the butter on medium speed until very silky, about 3 minutes.

Slowly add the sugar, about ½ cup at a time, beating in on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Add the egg yolks, one at a time.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour together with the kosher salt and baking powder.

Stir the milk together with the vanilla and coffee extracts.

Add about ⅓ of the flour, beating into butter mixture on low speed. Then pour in half of the milk, alternating with the flour, ending with the flour, blending just until the flour disappears.

Beat the egg whites and the pinch of kosher salt until stiff but not dry, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter.

Scoop the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake in a 345-degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check at 50 minutes; take care not to overbake.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then carefully loosen the cake and invert on a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake cools, make the glaze.

For the glaze:

Whisk the powdered sugar with the vanilla and coffee extracts, adding enough coffee to create a smooth glaze.

Spoon the coffee glaze over the cooled cake.

Serves 12.

To build on the depth of those flavors, a splash of Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Vanilla Extract hits the perfect note! https://amzn.to/43eYHo0 And the addition of their pure coffee extract is a beautiful addition to this cake. https://amzn.to/4bjg9tM

If you love to bake, Kitchen-Aid’s 7-quart mixer will be your new best friend! https://amzn.to/4h1p1FD

The brand Nordic Ware is synonymous with Bundt pans. Sturdy and durable, their pans provide uniform baking and beautiful results. https://amzn.to/3Xke37d

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