Coffee Loaf Cake is moist and tender with rich coffee flavor. The creamy coffee icing adds an additional layer of coffee perfection.
Why you'll love this recipe
- This moist coffee cake recipe makes 2 full sized or 5 mini loaves.
- Flavorful coffee loaves make wonderful gifts and also freeze well.
- The coffee icing dries firm enough for shipping, but this delicious cake is great without icing too.
- Vegetable oil in the batter helps keep the loaves moist and tasty for up to one week.
- A small amount of cocoa powder brings out the coffee flavor and adds deep brown color to the cake.
Moist Coffee Loaf Cake has the tender, soft texture you would expect in a layer cake, but is made quickly and easily in loaf pans.
With it's aromatic cofee flavor, this loaf is a great breakfast treat as well as a luscious dessert. Coffee fans are going to love this cake!
Top the loaves with coffee icing or powdered sugar for a pretty presentation, or serve the cake plain. The brewed coffee flavor stands out no matter how you serve it!
Ingredients
- My favorite espresso powder to use in baking comes from King Arthur Baking, however, most supermarkets carry instant espresso in the coffee aisle.
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Combine ingredients to form batter.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the parchment paper lined pans.
- Bake mini loaves for 30-35 minutes and regular loaves for 45-55 minutes. Cool completely before removing the loaves from the pans to add glaze.
- Whisk together the coffee glaze ingredients until smooth. Spread the glaze over the tops of the loaves.
Storage
Allow the glaze to set completely, about 1 hour, before wrapping or storing. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
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Individually wrapping each cake in wax paper, then plastic wrap will help retain moisture in the loaves.
Tips and variations
- For best results, don't over bake. Start testing the loaves for doneness with a toothpick five minutes before the indicated baking time.
- This recipe can be used to make 2- 9" loaves, 5- 5" mini loaves, or one Bundt cake.
- For coffee walnut loaf cake add 1 cup of walnuts to the batter and a sprinkle of walnuts on top of the glaze.
- Make a mocha loaf cake by adding 1 cup of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips to the batter and a sprinkle of chocolate on top of the glaze.
Frequently asked questions
Coffee loaf cake freezes well with or without the icing.
This loaf cake can be made using all butter or all margarine (vegan butter) as a substitute for the butter and vegetable oil combination in this recipe. Loaves baked with the added vegetable oil stay fresh and moist longest.
Instant espresso has a stronger, more intense, coffee flavor than instant coffee and is sold as a powder rather than the larger granules of instant coffee.
Related Recipes
Coffee Cookies are speckled with ground coffee beans and topped with marbled icing for a cookie that is packed with delicious coffee flavors.
Mocha Almond Brownie Bites are soft, fudgy, flourless bite-sized treats covered in chocolate.
Mocha Cookies are soft, chewy bakery style cookies with delicious chocolate and coffee flavor.
Iced Espresso Bars are fabulously chewy bars bursting with coffee flavor topped with cinnamon glaze. Just what you need with your afternoon coffee!
Chocolate Chip Mocha Cookies have chunks of melted chocolate in a coffee and chocolate dough.
Chocolate Espresso Biscotti are a coffee lovers dream cookie! These cookies taste like they come from a coffee shop.
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Coffee Loaf Cake
Ingredients
LOAVES
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons baking cocoa powder
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs room temperature
GLAZE
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ cup brewed coffee
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter melted
Instructions
LOAVES
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment, 2- 9” loaf pans or 5- 5 ½ ” mini loaf pans.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder.
- In a large measuring cup, mix the instant coffee/espresso powder with the hot water until disolved, then add the buttermilk.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, vegetable oil and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Lower the mixer speed and add the room temperature eggs, one at a time. Then mix in the vanilla extracts.
- Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture into the batter.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the pans. Fill each mini loaf pan with approximately 1 heaping cup of batter. Batter should be ¾”-1” from the top of each mini loaf pan. Use a spatula to smooth the tops.
- Bake mini loaves for 30-35 minutes and regular loaves for 40-45 minutes. Loaves are ready when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Place the pans on wire racks to cool completely before removing the loaves from the pans.
COFFEE ICING
- Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, brewed coffee, and melted butter until smooth.
- Spread the icng over the top of the cake.
- Optional: to decorate the loaves with an icing drizzle, spread the icng over the tops of the loaves, then use a spoon or fork to drizzle additional icing on top.
- Allow the icing to set completely, about 1 hour, before wrapping or storing.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Individually wrapping each cake in wax paper, then plastic wrap will help retain moisture in the loaves.
Notes
- This recipe can be used to make 2- 9" loaves, 5- 5" mini loaves, or one Bundt cake.
- For best results, don't over bake. Start testing the loaves for doneness with a toothpick five minutes before the indicated bake time.
- For coffee walnut loaf cake add 1 cup of walnuts to the batter and a sprinkle of walnuts on top of the glaze.
- Make a mocha loaf cake by adding 1 cup of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips to the batter and a sprinkle of chocolate on top of the glaze.
Phyllis
This recipe is fantastic. I made it and it is so good I am going to make it for all my family and friends for Christmas. Thanks for all the great recipes.
Wendy Sondov
That's great to hear! I love the flavor and the silky texture of this loaf. I hope your family and friends enjoy the cake this Christmas. 🙂
Deb
Wendy this recipe looks amazing and wonder if it would work well sending overseas if packaged correctly? Having my morning coffee right now reading your post and a slice sure would go great with my coffee. I’d make some but missing the buttermilk. Thanks for another great recipe.
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Deb. I think that in cool weather and if vacuum sealed, this loaf could work in an overseas package. If you change the butter:oil ratio to 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup oil, the cake is basically the same and you may get a bit longer for moisture retension. I tried it both ways and there was no change in flavor, almost no change in texture, and maybe one-two days of longer freshness. The only reason I didn't publish the recipe with that ratio, is that readers seem to prefer butter and often ask if they can skip using the oil altogether. Thank you for reading and for always sharing kindness!
saltandserenity
I’m reading this post at 6:30 am with my morning latte. Thinking how delicious a slice of this would be right now! This recipe looks like a keeper! Love the addition of the icing layer. I love the King Arthur espresso powder too. It adds the perfect coffee punch. Worth seeking it out!!
Wendy Sondov
Good morning, Cindy! I can vouch for this loaf being great with a morning latte, afternoon coffee, or evening snack. It took me four rounds to get this loaf where I wanted and not a crumb of the trial loaves went to waste. 😉 It was surprisingly hard to get a punch of coffee flavor in the cake (even with the espresso powder) and the icing added that final flavor boost.