Affogato Cake

Silky creamy Affogato Cake with a punch of espresso! All the appeal of a traditional affogato in lavish cake form, that is fit for your finest holiday guests this season. 

In the last couple years I have gone from a non-coffee drinker to a serious java connoisseur.

You know the story… I eased in with mochas and lattes. Then at one point had a black coffee out of necessity on a really sleepy day and was hooked.

Then to seal the deal, this past summer we spent several weeks in Italy.

Every morning we would trot down to the corner cafe to do breakfast Italian-style. We ordered dark double shots of espresso (doppio espresso) and tiny pastries, then stood at the counter and made light conversation.

Ok. Really, we just listened to other peoples’ conversations in Italian and tried our hardest to understand. But still, it made us feel like we were fitting into the culture a little bit.

We drank espresso and cappuccino as often as we could in Italy because it was so rich in flavor. Honestly, I’d never had coffee that tasted so deep and vibrant, like tasting layers in fine wine. On occasion, we ordered our daily thimble-full of gelato with a shot of espresso over the top. This simple Italian treat is known as affogato!

Drinking these tiny shots of intense coffee made us want an espresso maker in the worst way.

When we got home we pondered whether we would really use an espresso maker. Or would it sit on our counter top, looking pretty, but wasting space?

After a few weeks we missed our daily dose of espresso and decided it was time to learn to make it ourselves.

Lt. Dan has become the official barista in our house, making luscious power-packed shots of espresso every morning with our new KitchenAid Pro Line Espresso Maker.

He also makes me cappuccino, and although his foam-art needs a little work, the foam itself is marvelous. With the frothing arm on the espresso maker, he can steam and froth ultra silky foam, just like we had in Italy.

I’ve got him studying youtube clips on latte foam art so he can make my cappuccino look as pretty as it tastes!

He’s a good man.

It’s rewarding to make rich espresso and espresso drinks at home in the morning, but it’s also fun to BAKE with espresso!

Today’s amazing holiday treat is a cake inspired by the coffee and treats we enjoyed in Italy this summer, Affogato Cake.

Affogato Cake is similar to a tres leches cake, yet incorporates a hefty dose of freshly brewed espresso, so the moist silky texture oozes a taste of Italy in every bite.

Start by baking a simple two-layer sponge cake. Then mix fresh espresso with sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract to make an affogato cream to pour over the top.

Pour the espresso mix over the sponge cakes and allow them to soak up all the creamy-coffee essence.

Then stack them with a layer of whipped cream in the middle, and of course, more whipped cream on top!

This simple, yet elegant, holiday treat will steal the show at any gathering this season.

(Even on Thanksgiving!)

The espresso saturated cake layers are over-the-top in taste, texture, and visual appeal. Proving once again, that getting an espresso maker was a good decision for us.

Maybe YOU need one…

Win a KitchenAid Pro Line Espresso Maker!

What an amazing gift this would make for your significant other, or for yourself.

Valued at $1,299.99 this baby is bold, beautiful, and really good at it’s job. Make all your favorite coffee drinks at home, and warm your espresso cups on top with a built-in warming shelf! You are going to love this!!

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Affogato Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Silky Affogato Cake! This traditional Italian treat, glorified into an amazing cake, oozing with sweet vanilla cream and espresso.

Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened (1 stick)
• 1 cup sugar + 1/4 cup for whipped cream
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract divided
• 5 eggs
• 12 ounces evaporated milk
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 5 ounces espresso
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• Cocoa powder for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8- to 9-inch cake pans and set aside. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Then add 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
• Crack the eggs into a measuring pitcher. Then with the mixer running, alternate adding the eggs and flour mixture until just combined. Scrape the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 20 minutes, until golden on top.
• Cool for 10 minutes, then flip the cakes out of the pans onto wax paper lined plates. Meanwhile, whisk the evaporated milk, condensed milk, espresso and remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla together. Set aside.
• Poke both cakes with a fork thoroughly, to help the espresso mix absorb. Slowly pour half the mixture over each cake and allow them to sit and soak it all up while you make the whipped cream.
• Using a clean bowl and electric mixer, whip the heavy cream with 1/4 cup sugar until firm peaks form. To assemble: carefully flip one of the cake layers onto a platter with a shallow rim, and peel off the wax paper. Scoop about half of the whipped cream onto the cake and spread evenly. Then carefully flip the second cake layer on top and remove the wax paper. Spread the remaining whipped cream on the top and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 516kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 20g, Cholesterol: 176mg, Sodium: 217mg, Potassium: 346mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 38g, Vitamin A: 1220IU, Vitamin C: 1.7mg, Calcium: 236mg, Iron: 1mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Italian

Author: Sommer Collier

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Disclosure: This giveaway is provided by KitchenAid. All opinions are my own.

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