Baking With Brewed Coffee

Have you ever found yourself with a significant amount of leftover brewed coffee? We have, more than once, thanks to our new coffeemaker. Normally we set it for 5 cups but every now and then it resets itself to do a full pot, i.e. 12 cups. I hate to waste anything so, after our most recent over-brew, I decided to find some recipes that would use up the excess java.

I discovered a veritable treasure trove at Taste of Home. With 45 recipes, there was no way I could try them all, so I focused on what I do best–baking. Here are three recipes I tried with great success.

Java Muffins

Muffins freeze well, which makes them ideal for lunch or coffee breaks. Pack one in the morning and it will be thawed by mid-morning. These ones have a definite coffee flavour, but it works with the cinnamon and nuts.

Notes & Tweaks

• I didn’t have instant coffee so I skipped it altogether. The coffee flavour still came through, but I did have very strong brewed coffee that had been sitting for some time. If you have a weaker brew you might need the instant coffee granules.
• If you don’t have applesauce, just make your own. One apple should be enough for this recipe.
• I didn’t have enough pecans so I omitted them from the top. In case you are considering cutting back or skipping them, I’d recommend using the full amount. The added crunch of the nuts is really nice and they help balance the coffee flavour.

Try the recipe here: Java Muffins

Ginger-Cream Bars

If you like gingerbread, you’ll like these bars. They are really more of a snack cake than a bar and the spice is very pronounced. The coffee gives them a chocolatey undertone that I quite enjoyed.

Notes & Tweaks

• Make sure the butter is soft. Creaming it with white sugar is tough if the butter hasn’t softened completely.
• I found the cake to be moist and flavourful enough on its own so I didn’t bother with the icing, although I’m sure it would be a good counterpart to the rich, spicy cake. I did experiment with other toppings and found warm butterscotch topping worked well, as did a little whipped cream. I also dusted a piece with icing sugar, which provided just a hint of sweetness.

Try the recipe here: Ginger-Cream Bars

Contest-Winning Moist Chocolate Cake

Chocolate and brewed coffee combine but the result is not a mocha vibe, like you might expect. The coffee is present but not strong; it deepens the chocolate flavour rather than standing out on its own. I have a sensitivity to chocolate, but I tried a teensy bit of this cake and it was as advertised–moist and delicious.

Notes & Tweaks

• I used a stand mixer to get this batter to the right consistency but a handheld mixer would probably be fine too. It all comes together in one bowl, so it’s really easy.
• The trickiest part of this recipe is the bundt pan. The recipe offers tips that were not included when I printed it, so I missed them. Don’t make that mistake. Having made bundt cakes before, I knew I had to grease and flour the pan, although I used canola oil instead of shortening as suggested here. I did not rap the cake pan and I left the cake in the pan for way longer than advised here, so I had some problems with sticking.

Try the recipe here: Contest-Winning Moist Chocolate Cake

Coffee grinder image: 145110683 / Coffee Sketch © Uliana Nemylovych | Dreamstime.com