I first made this Cinnamon Dolce Latte Marble Cake a couple of years ago as an homage to my favourite drink at Starbucks. (I have mine ‘skinny’ with no whipped cream.) The thing is, as a self-taught cook and recipe developer, every year my skills improve, so when I look at old recipes, it’s tough to leave them alone. I was convinced I could make this cake prettier, and I also thought I could improve the flavour while reducing the amount of sugar it contained.
Using a bundt pan and glazing the cake instead of frosting it was a great improvement on the original layered version. I managed to lose four tablespoons of sugar, as well as giving the cake more of a distinctive flavour with instant espresso powder instead of ordinary instant coffee. I increased the amount of cinnamon in the cake, and used buttermilk instead of regular milk for a richer taste and texture. This is a fairly ‘grown up’ cake with a pronounced cinnamon latte flavour, but I have yet to find a kid who doesn’t like it!
Cinnamon Dolce Latte Marble Cake
Serves 10 to 12
¾ cup butter, softened (unsalted for preference)
1¼ cups white sugar (caster or super-fine if possible)
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 to 3 teaspoons boiling water and allowed to cool (use as little water as possible)
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (170ºC or 160ºC for a fan oven). Butter and flour a bundt pan.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Gently blend into the batter. Stir in the buttermilk, and beat until smooth.
Remove about half a cup of the batter from the mixture and place in a medium bowl. Add the cooled espresso and remaining 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and blend well.
Put half the white batter in the bundt pan, then divide the coffee batter into three portions over top. Spread the remaining white batter over top carefully, smoothing the top a bit if possible.
Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3
Using a pallet knife, cut through the batter in a wave motion to swirl the marble filling.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Cool completely and drizzle with Coffee Glaze.
To make the glaze, mix 2 teaspoons of espresso powder with 1 tablespoon of boiling water. Blend the espresso into 1 cup confectioner’s (icing) sugar along with 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Add more icing sugar, a bit at at time, until a thick smooth consistency is achieved.
Drizzle the glaze over the cake. Cut in slices to serve.
Shared with Mouthwatering Mondays, See Ya in the Gumbo
Comments & Reviews
I’m like you, I can’t leave old recipes alone! 🙂 We just get better with age/time – right? 🙂
That sounds absolutely heavenly, April! I’m so glad you linked it up! Thank you!
Thank you, Rachel 🙂
April this is a gorgeous looking cake – I especially love the idea of a bundt cake with a glaze over it rather than a frosted layer cake – I think that’s a definite improvement. Great that you managed to cut down the sugar a little bit too.
Thank you, Sue. I’m so pleased with how it has evolved 🙂
It’s always fun to revisit a recipe and tinker a bit. I think of you as an expert on bundt cakes–you always make such beautiful ones! I need a cup of coffee because I’m ready to dig in! Thank you for linking, April.
Thank you so much, Michelle. I love making Bundt cakes. The way the pans are shaped means they are so much easier to glaze and decorate 🙂
This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing. Pinning right now. 🙂
Thank you, and thank you for sharing it 🙂
This is definitely a cake for me!
I just love everything with cinnamon and this is a delicious looking cake 🙂
Thank you, Winnie 🙂 I love cinnamon too!