This Brazilian bachelor cake requires good quality ingredients and a little care. It’s perfect for those of you that can’t decide whether they feel like coffee or chocolate – take the easy way out and have them have both! It consists of a few ingredients only and the recipe is worth remembering because the cake itself is versatile and can be adapted for a huge variety of different recipes. For a bigger cake, make the recipe twice but don’t double up unless you are an adept baker. Spread with a swirl of rich coffee cream, more icing, berry jam or even nutella for a doubly delicious cake.

Ingredients

• 170 g self raising flour, sifted
• 170 g caster sugar
• 170 g unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons hot espresso coffee
• 3 large eggs
• Few broken Brazil nuts for decorating
• Coffee ice cream –  buy any good coffee ice-cream (or coffee and chocolate) from a reputable Italian gelateria)

Coffee liqueur Icing

• 250 g icing sugar
• 90 g cream cheese
• 90 g unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon good coffee liqueur (Kahlua, Tia Maria or something similar)

Method

Pre heat oven to 170 C

• Grease and line the base and side of a round cake tin with baking paper
• Cream butter and sugar together with an electric egg mixer until it is light and pale
• Add the eggs, one at a time, adding one tablespoon of flour after each egg and mix well with electric egg mixer
• Fold in the rest of the flour and then the coffee
• Put the mixture into the tin and bake for 30 – 40 minutes depending on your oven
• Watch the cake – don’t go out and forget about it
• Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning it out on the wire rack.
• Put all the icing ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth
• Spread over the cake, grate chocolate on top and decorate.
• Slice and serve with the ice cream, liqueur and good coffee.
• Decorate with broken Brazil nuts