Flat white coffee cake

Depending on who you ask, the flat white originated in Australia or New Zealand. Being a Chinese New Zealander, I like to think it was the latter! Characterised by the smooth and velvety milk, it is a very popular coffee order here.

What’s so special about flat white coffees?

Out of all the coffees, it has the creamiest and silkiest mouthfeel. In a flat white, the milk is steamed to create microfoam, which is finely textured and velvety in consistency. The microfoam in a flat white is created by incorporating small, fine bubbles into the milk while steaming it. This texture is smoother and creamier than the frothy milk used in a cappuccino and is less dense than the foam with a latte.

I love turning my favourite drinks into cake form (think Dalgona cake, Bubble tea cake, Matcha pudding cake Mocha ube cake) and this is no exception. The only change – add vanilla to this tender and velvety cake. Whilst people shy away from sugar in coffees these days and vanilla shots are often reserved for those still exploring coffees in their teens, it pairs amazingly with coffee in the cake.

For the achingly tender cake crumb that imitates the velvety flat white, I went with the tang mian method of baking the sponge cake. This game changer method is foolproof and guarantees a silky and tender cake crumb by changing one simple step. Coat your flour with oil before anything else. More on the science behind tang mian here.

Pair the cake with your favourite coffee to make the perfect morning pick me up. The flavours are elegant and moorish at the same time. If you give the cake a go, tag @ultimateomnoms on Instagram so I feature your creation!

Flat white coffee cake

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Coffee cake

• 65 ml oil
• 200 ml milk
• 60 g sugar
• 2 tsp instant coffee powder
• 6 eggs (separated)
• 180 g cake flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• 135 g sugar

Flat white cream

• 300 ml fresh cream
• 30 g icing sugar
• 200 g mascarpone cheese (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-5 tsp instant powder (dependent on preferred intensity of coffee flavour)

Method

 

Coffee cake

1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan using low-med heat. Sift in the cake flour and mix
2. Add the milk, coffee powder and sugar and mix. Take the saucepan off the heat
3. Add the egg yolks in one at a time, whisking between each one
4. Add a pinch of salt and vanilla extract
5. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy and add the cream of tartar. Add the sugar in batches and whisk until the egg whites reach stiff peaks
6. Preheat the oven to 150ºC and prepare your hot water bath
7. Add one third of the egg white to the yolk batter and mix well. Using a spatula, fold the remaining egg white in two batches. Do so gently and thoroughly so no streaks of egg white remain
8. Pour the batter into the lined 8” cake pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Tap the pan against the tabletop to get rid of any large air bubbles
9. Put the cake pan into the hot water bath, ensuring that the water height reaches at least a third of the cake pan
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 20min or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean
11. Remove from the oven and tap the pan against the tabletop a few times to prevent shrinkage. Transfer to cool on a wire rack pan for 10min before unmolding

Flat white cream

1. Melt the instant coffee powder into a few tablespoons of cream. If you need heat to melt it, wait to cool before the next step
2. Add the coffee cream, the rest of the fresh cream, mascarpone cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl
3. Whip together until medium peaks
4. It's ready to be used!

Notes

For a 6″ cake, bake for 1 hr and 5min using two cake tins