Coffee Chiffon Cake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

Making this soft, moist and ultra fluffy coffee chiffon cake couldn’t be easier! And for a bold dose of coffee flavour, I’ve got the perfect coffee buttercream frosting to turn this cake into an extra special dessert! 

Finally, my coffee chiffon cake update is here! I’ve made a few minor recipe enhancements that promises a moist, tender and fluffy coffee chiffon cake loaded with coffee flavour.

this recipe

But if you’re a true-blue coffee addict like myself and love a cake with a deeper coffee taste, I’ve included an ingredient (or two) in this update that will do just that!

Even better, to bring this coffee chiffon cake over the top, I’ve got the perfect, extra creamy and silky smooth coffee buttercream frosting you won’t be able to resist.

I guarantee you’re going to love this coffee frosting the moment you taste it! It’s so light and fluffy, it literally melts in your mouth! And I love that it’s not too sweet!

Swiss meringue buttercreams are my favourite buttercreams to make for any kind of flavoured frosting including this coffee buttercream.

If you find the standard buttercreams just a bit too sweet for your taste and heavy on the palette, this is where a Swiss meringue buttercream couldn’t be more different!

This coffee buttercream frosting is light and fluffy, ultra smooth and glossy. Don’t let the words ‘Swiss meringue’ scare you! It’s really easy to make, and I’m going to show you how below!

Now, if you’re not too fond of buttercreams, you can also make my easy, mix-and-stir coffee glaze.

And it goes without saying that you can always enjoy coffee chiffon cake plain, or dusted with a bit of confectioner’s sugar. A light touch goes a long way too!

I’m excited to get going, and I promise you that this is one easy and delicious cake dessert to make any time!

Ingredients for coffee chiffon cake

For the cake batter

• egg yolks
• caster sugar
• instant coffee granules dissolved in hot water to make coffee solution
• vanilla extract (or use coffee extract for deeper flavour)
• coffee paste or coffee emulco for deeper flavour (optional)
• milk or water
• oil
• cake flour
• baking powder
• baking soda

For the meringue

• egg whites
• caster sugar
• cream of tartar

For the coffee buttercream

• egg whites
• caster sugar
• unsalted butter, at room temperature
• instant coffee granules dissolved in hot water to make coffee solution

Step-by-step: How to make coffee chiffon cake

Chiffon cakes have two parts to making the batter.

The first part is a thick egg yolk batter made with egg yolks, liquids (water / milk / juices / extracts), sugars, oil, flour and leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda, or both.

The second part is the meringue, which is a stiffly beaten mixture of egg whites and sugar, and typically stabilised with cream of tartar, lemon juice or vinegar.

Part 1: Make the batter

• Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar.

• Step 2: Whisk until the yolks turns thick and fluffy and the sugars have dissolved, about 3 to 5 minutes. You can do this by hand, or use a hand-held electric beater or stand mixer.

• Step 3: Stir in the coffee solution, coffee or vanilla extract, coffee paste (optional), milk and oil, and mix until well combined.

• Step 4: Add the sifted flour mixture in 2 additions. Stir with a whisk until all the flour is incorporated.

• Step 5: The batter at this point should be thick and smooth, and free of lumps.

Part 2: Make the meringue

• Step 1: In a dry and grease-free mixer bowl, add egg whites and sprinkle cream of tartar over it. Whip on medium speed (speed 4 on my Kitchen Aid) until it starts to turn frothy.

• Step 2: Without stopping the mixer, add the sugar in small portions.

• Step 3: When the meringue is near to stiff peaks, it should look fine, smooth and glossy. The whisk will leave trail lines in the meringue as it turns.

• Step 4: Lift the whisk. When the meringue holds a firm shape and curls just a bit at the tip like a little hook, it is at the ideal stiffness. Just to be sure, gently tip your bowl over to invert it. Should the meringue shift or slide a bit, it’s not stiff enough yet. If it stays fixed to the bowl in an inverted position, it’s stiff.

Final steps: Folding the meringue, filling the pan, baking and cooling

The most important aspect of folding the meringue into the batter is to mix with a light and quick, but gentle hand.

Even a perfectly whipped meringue can’t compensate for an over worked batter, as it will lose its volume and start to deflate. Get this right, and you’re almost guaranteed an airy and fluffy chiffon cake!

• Steps 1 & 2: Fold in ⅓ of the meringue into the batter, very gently using a whisk. This is what it means to ‘lighten the batter“. To incorporate well, fold until the meringue is no longer visible and the batter looks homogeneous.

• Steps 3 & 4: Fold in the next ⅓ of the meringue. This time, you need to use a light but quick and gentle hand so as not to break the air bubbles.

• Steps 5 & 6: Fold in the remaining ⅓ meringue. Again, keep it light and quick so that you don’t lose those air bubbles! Make sure to fold until no streaks of meringue can be seen. The final batter should be light and smooth, without any visible streaks of meringue.

• Step 7: Gently pour the batter into the tube pan from one position, letting the batter spread to fill the pan. Level the surface with an offset spatula. Run a bamboo skewer or chopstick through the batter. Then give the pan a few gentle taps on the counter to minimise air pockets in the batter. Bake on the lowest rack in the preheated oven at 165°C (329°F) for anywhere between 50 to 55 minutes, or until just done.

• Step 8: Immediately invert the pan once it is removed from the oven. Allow it to ‘hang’ until completely cooled. To remove, run an offset spatula gently around the sides of the pan. Invert the cake to free it from the sides of the pan. Then run the spatula around the base to release the funnel.

Step-by-step: How to make coffee buttercream

• In a small heatproof bowl, combine egg whites and sugar and whisk to mix well. Place the bowl over a saucepan or pot filled with 1 -2 inches of simmering water. The base of the bowl should sit above the water level.

• Keep stirring with the whisk until all the sugar dissolves, and no longer feels grainy between your fingers. Or keep stirring until the temperature reaches 71°C (160°F).

• Transfer to a stand mixer bowl, and whip on medium-high speed until the meringue is stiff and no longer warm to the touch, about 5 to 10 minutes.

• Add butter cubes, 2 to 3 pieces at a time. As you add the butter, the mixture will start to curdle and look awful. Your instinct will tell you that something’s going wrong! But don’t panic, keep adding the butter and keep beating! After adding all the butter, keep whipping until the buttercream becomes smooth and fluffy.

• Pour in the coffee solution, and whip for a few seconds until well incorporated.

Important! The butter needs to be cool and just softened at room temperature, but not warm. If the buttercream just isn’t firming up after a few minutes of whipping, the butter could have been too warm.

Pop it into the chiller for 5 minutes, then rewhip with a whisk on medium-high speed until it becomes silky smooth and fluffy.

If not using immediately, the buttercream can be transferred to a bowl. Cover tightly with cling wrap and store, chilled, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Have it out at room temperature until it is soft enough to be re-whipped. When ready to frost the cake, whip the softened buttercream until it is smooth, light and fluffy again.

Tips on coffee flavouring

• Use a strong coffee solution made with instant coffee or espresso granules. If you wish to intensify the flavour by making a much more concentrated coffee solution, add 2 – 2½ tbsp instant coffee or espresso granules dissolved in 1 tbsp water.  

• Add coffee paste or coffee emulco to achieve a more intense coffee flavour. Do note that coffee paste darkens the cake considerably.  If you choose not to use coffee paste, you could make a stronger coffee solution with an additional tablespoon of instant coffee or espresso granules.

• Use coffee extract in place of, or in addition to vanilla extract.

• Remember to offset the bitterness of added coffee flavourings with a bit more sugar, if you’re adding more coffee granules or coffee paste than stated in the recipe.

The above are not mutually exclusive, which means that if you’d like to add coffee extract, as well as coffee paste in addition to a concentrated coffee solution, feel free to!

Tips for getting the perfect chiffon texture

1. Use the right pan

Chiffon cakes are best baked in a chiffon tube pan without non-stick coating. Do not grease the pan.

2. Use the appropriate pan size

In order for the cake to rise straight and tall, use the appropriate sized pan. When the pan is filled with batter, it should not be more than ¾ full.

3. Have ingredients at room temperature, including eggs

Cold egg whites do not whip up as well, so it won’t trap as much air as egg whites at room temperature.

4. Whip meringue to ideal stiffness

The ideal stiff peak stage is somewhere between medium and firm stiffness. How do we recognise that? When you lift some meringue with the whisk (flick away excess), it should hold a firm shape from the base towards the tip, and droop over just a bit. Basically, it looks a bit like a small hook at the tip.

Just to be sure, gently tip your bowl over to invert it. Should the meringue shift or slide a bit, it’s not stiff enough yet. If it stays fixed to the bowl in an inverted position, it’s stiff.

5. Sift powdered ingredients together

This will give you a smoother and finer cake crumb and enable the cake to rise evenly and uniformly.

6. Do all your mixing, stirring and folding with a whisk

The meringue will incorporate more easily and thoroughly, with minimal loss of volume due to the inherent shape and structure of the whisk. It also helps reduce or eliminate air pockets in the batter.

7. Invert the chiffon pan immediately when done with baking

Once removed from the oven, immediately invert the pan over a bottle neck once it is removed from the oven. Or if you have tube pan with ‘feet’, invert the pan over a cooling rack. Allow it to ‘hang’ in this position until completely cooled.

Hope you’ll love this! Enjoy! – ♥ Celia

More chiffon cake recipes you’ll love:

• Marble Chiffon Cake with Cocoa and Vanilla Swirls
• Matcha Chiffon Cake
• Beautiful Orange Chiffon Cake
• No-Fail Pandan Chiffon Cake
• Black Sesame Chiffon Cake – A Japanese-Inspired Treat
• Vanilla Chiffon Cake + Tips for the Perfect Chiffon Bake!
• Cotton-Soft Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Tried this recipe? I’d love to see! Share your bakes on Instagram and tag @foodelicacy or #foodelicacy.