Ingredients
- For the cake
- 200g butter, softened
- 100g brown sugar
- 100g castor sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 200g plain flour
- 1¼tsp baking powder
- 100g pecans, finely chopped
- 3½tbsp espresso powder, dissolved in 1tbsp water
- 50g dark chocolate, melted
- 100ml sour cream
- ½tsp vanilla extract
- ½tsp ground cinnamon
- For the topping
- 100g butter, softened
- 200g cream cheese
- 200g icing sugar
- 1tsp espresso powder
- 20 to 25 pecans, to decorate
- You will also need
- 20cm round tin, greased and the bottom lined with baking parchment
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180°C, 160°C fan. To make the cake, whisk the butter and sugars in a large bowl until light, pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs, mixing well after each addition; don’t worry if it curdles. Sift in the flour and baking powder, and gently fold through.
- Add the pecans, espresso mix, melted chocolate, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix well, then pour into the prepared tin, smooth the top and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Once cool enough to handle, remove the cake from the tin to cool on a wire rack. Cut in half horizontally, so you have 2 layers.
- To make the topping, cream the butter and cream cheese together using an electric whisk until light and well combined. Then beat in the icing sugar and espresso powder. Use half as a filling, then spread the rest over the top of the cake and smooth with a palette knife. Decorate with the pecans.
