Get the Recipe: Vietnamese Iced Coffee Cake Recipe
This Vietnamese iced coffee cake is inspired by Vietnamese iced coffee. The coffee flavored cake is covered with sweetened condensed milk flavored frosting. The frosting is then decorated with mocha fudge swirls to mimic the appearance of a glass of swirled iced coffee.
Ingredients
For the Coffee Cake
- 2 ½ cups (11.25 ounces or 319 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground coffee or instant coffee granules
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ¾ cup (12.25 ounces or 347 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (8 ounces or 227 grams) sour cream
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) canola oil
- ¾ cup (6 ounces or 170 grams) strongly brewed (preferably cold brew) coffee, at room temperature
For the Sweetened Condensed Milk Frosting
- 1 ½ cups (12 ounces or 340 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- a pinch of kosher salt
- 4 ½ cups (18 ounces or 510 grams) confectioners' sugar
- 6 tablespoons (6 ounces or 170 grams) sweetened condensed milk
For the Coffee Fudge Sauce
- ¼ cup (2.5 ounces or 70 grams) chocolate sauce
- 1 Tablespoon strongly brewed (preferably cold brew) coffee, at room temperature
Instructions
For the Coffee Cake
- Prep your oven and pans. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottom of each with a parchment paper circle. Spray the parchment, too.
- Make the cake batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground or instant coffee, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium until light, fluffy, and doubled in volume, 3 to 4 minutes, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the sour cream, followed by the oil and coffee, and beat until the mixture is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Gradually add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more, and beat on low for an additional 30 seconds.
- Divide the batter evenly between the pans; if using a digital scale to measure out the layers, note that this recipe makes around 45 ounces (1276 grams) of batter. Pour 22.5 ounces (638 grams) of batter into each pan.
- Bake the cakes. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. When done, the top of the cake should bounce back when gently pressed and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely in the pans on a wire rack before frosting.
For the Sweetened Condensed Milk Frosting
- Make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, vanilla, and salt on medium-low until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer to low and add the confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the condensed milk and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more, then beat on medium-high until the frosting is creamy and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Use immediately.
Assembly
- First, assemble the cake. If necessary, level the top of both cakes. Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter in the center of a rotating cake stand. Use a rubber spatula or cookie dough scoop to drop ½ cup of frosting in the middle of this cake layer. Spread it evenly all over the top, just like you would spread butter on toast. Place the second cake on top of this frosting, stacking it evenly on top of the first cake.
- Next, crumb coat the cake. Cover the surface of the entire layer cake with a thin layer of frosting. Use just enough frosting to cover the entire cake completely. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 30 minutes to stiffen and "set" the frosting.
- After the crumb coat sets, finish frosting the cake. Scoop out ⅓ cup of the sweetened condensed milk frosting and place it in a separate bowl; reserve this for the chocolate fudge swirls. Place the cake back in the center of the rotating cake stand. Cover the cake completely with the remaining frosting, using an offset spatula to spread the frosting all over the top and sides of the cake evenly. Once the cake is completely covered, hold the length of the offset spatula's blade against the frosting as you rotate the cake stand to smoothen the frosting. Once the frosting is perfectly smooth, refrigerate the cake while you prepare the chocolate fudge swirls.
- Make the chocolate fudge swirls. In a small bowl, whisk together the chocolate sauce and coffee until combined. Divide the reserved sweetened condensed milk frosting and between two small bowls. In one bowl, use a small rubber spatula to mix in 1 to 2 teaspoons of the chocolate coffee sauce until pale brown and creamy. In the second bowl, use the rubber spatula to mix in 1 to 2 Tablespoons of chocolate coffee sauce until dark brown and creamy.
- Decorate the cake. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and place it back in the center of the rotating cake stand. Use the offset spatula to dab about 1 teaspoon of frosting at the top edge of the cake, rotating from each different bowl of frosting so that you have different colored dollops of frosting next to each other. Continue dabbing until you have a border of these dollops around the top of the cake.
- After you've bordered the cake, use the offset spatula to carefully swipe each of the dollops down the cake in a diagonal motion, rotating the cake stand slowly to help. Repeat until all the dollops are even, but try not to overwork it or you might lose some of the "barely stirred" pattern you're going for. Smoothen any leftover mocha dollops at the top of the cake, rotating the cake stand in a circle to create a spiral motion at the top of the cake. Use the remaining chocolate sauce and chocolate fudge frostings to cover the top of the cake completely.
- Serve and store. Serve immediately. The assembled Vietnamese iced coffee cake can be stored at room temperature, under a cake dome or a large bowl turned upside down, for up to 1 day. Press a sheet of plastic wrap against any cut surfaces to prevent the cake from drying out. After that, cover the entire cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Notes
- For even cake layers, I like to actually weigh out the layers with a digital scale to make sure they’re even. The easiest way to do this is to set a prepared cake pan on a digital scale and tare it to “0”. Pour batter into the pan until the scale registers the weight listed in the recipe (because yes, I’ve included the approximate weight of the batter needed for each pan!). Repeat with the second cake pan.
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