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Vanilla latte cake with swirls of vanilla and chocolate espresso buttercream, next to a vase of red roses.

High Altitude Vanilla Cafe Latte Cake

Heather Smoke
Soft and moist vanilla buttermilk cake infused with espresso powder, frosted with swirls of vanilla buttercream and chocolate mocha buttercream.

All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.

5 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings16

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment

Ingredients
 

Cake

  • 3 ¼ cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • 1 ½ cups whole buttermilk, room temperature
  • ¼ cup instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg whites
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream

  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp meringue powder, optional
  • ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2-4 tbsp milk, if needed
  • 1 tbsp instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350F and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
  • In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients well.
  • In separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and espresso powder, until the espresso powder is dissolved. Whisk in the eggs, egg whites, melted butter, oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until combined and smooth, about 10-15 seconds.  Divide the batter between the cake pans.  Tap a few times against the counter to pop any large air bubbles.
  • Bake the cakes for about 21-25 minutes, or until a cake tester or a toothpick comes out clean, and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
  • Set the pans on a wire rack, cover them loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.  When ready to frost and assemble the cake, remove the cakes from the pans.

Buttercream

  • Note that you'll be making 1 batch of vanilla buttercream, then adding some cocoa powder and espresso powder to a small portion of the vanilla buttercream to make the chocolate mocha buttercream for swirling onto the cake.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
  • With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the salt, mixing until thick and combined. Add the vanilla.
  • Increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Add a little milk, a tablespoon at a time, as needed for desired consistency.
  • To make the chocolate mocha buttercream:
    In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp of the milk with the espresso powder. Add the cocoa powder and 3/4 cup of the vanilla buttercream. Stir until smooth and combined. Cover and set aside.

Assembly and Decorating

  • Remove the cooled cakes from the pans. Place one cake layer on a cake board or cake pedestal. Spread with a layer of vanilla buttercream.
    Repeat stacking and filling the cake layers with vanilla buttercream, then frost all over with a thin crumb coat of vanilla buttercream.
    Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to set the crumb coat.
  • Frost the cake all over with a swirly layer of vanilla buttercream.
  • Using a small icing spatula, dab the chocolate mocha buttercream onto the cake. You can do it around the base of the cake, as pictured, or randomly all over the cake.
  • Now gently swirl the chocolate and vanilla buttercream together, taking care to leave lots of contrast and not just blend them together. The idea is for the cake to look like a cup of coffee, just after you pour cream in, and the coffee and cream start to swirl together.
    Alternatively, instead of swirls, you can use a bench scraper to smooth the sides of the cake, creating more of a blended ombre buttercream.

Notes

Leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
Keyword Coffee, Espresso, High Altitude Cake, Vanilla Latte
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