Alpro Caffe Cake

I’ve been enjoying the new Alpro Caffe range for a while now but have been thinking there must be some more creative ways to use it rather than just drinking it (lovely though that is). A dull, grey Sunday afternoon, provided me the perfect opportunity to have a little play around in the kitchen and come up with this Alpro Caffe cake. A twist on a traditional coffee cake that plays on the coffee hazelnut taste of the coffee blend and turns it into a loaf cake.

Coffee cake is always a classic and I must admit I’ve really gone fairly off piste here with a vegan, dairy free coffee cake loaf that barely uses any ingredients. As I’ve said before I don’t like complicated cooking and this requires only a food processor, oven and a loaf tin. No cleaning up whisks and mixing bowls here. You don’t even need scales as all the measurements are done in cups instead. There’s a slight nod to a traditional coffee cake by the inclusion of walnut oil as a fat but like the Alpro Caffe drink, this is more of a coffee hazelnut cake with lots of chopped hazelnuts studded throughout.

I’ve also sweetened it mostly with coconut nectar, which is a lower GI sugar alternative, but this would work just as well with brown sugar. I’ve also dialled up the coffee in the Alpro caffe with some Percol Espresso Black and Beyond, which is nice, strong instant coffee that is micro ground. It’s not coffee cake as you know it but it’s a nice, simple, not too sweet loaf that doesn’t require a whole lot of equipment and cleaning up after.

 

Alpro Caffe Cake

Makes 1 900g tin loaf cake

For the cake:

2 cups of self-raising flour

1/2 cup of coconut nectar

½ cup walnut oil

2 heaped tablespoons of espresso powder (I use Percol Black and Beyond)

1 cup of Alpro Caffe Hazelnut Drink

¾ cup of chopped hazelnuts

For the icing:

¼ cup vegan spread

2 tablespoons of Alpro Caffe Hazelnut Drink

1 tablespoons of instant espresso powder

1.Simply put all the cake ingredients (except the chopped hazelnuts) into a food processor and whizz until it makes a creamy cake batter. Add the chopped hazelnuts to the batter and pulse briefly to incorporate them (but you don’t want to become ground into the cake mixture).

2. Put into a greased 900g loaf tin (I prefer to line mine with a loaf cake liner to make it easier to get out)

3. Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 35-40 minutes until a cake skewer comes out clean

4. For the icing put all the ingredients into the food processor and whizz until it becomes a lovely paste. Put in the fridge to chill.

5. Take the cake out of the oven and leave to cool. Once completely cold, put in the fridge too to firm up. 

6. Spread the icing over the cake and return to the fridge to let the icing completely set.

7. Top with chopped hazelnut if you like and enjoy (maybe with a glass of Alpro Caffe!)