coffee and milk chocolate chip cake.

As I type, there is an annoying fly ricocheting against the walls of my room, the ceiling, my cupboard and god know what else. You know, it's one of those big ones large enough to cause distress. Whenever it hits an obstacle, the beat of its wings can be distinctly heard. I left my windows wide open but apparently it's not taking the hint. Why am I not surprised. If it even had an inkling of IQ it wouldn't be flying into walls all over my room.

Good lordy lord I just saw it crawling on my windowsill.

Woo hoo I just crushed its irritating presence into a wad of tissue paper. In the rubbish bin it sails. Good riddance.

Okay. Now I can type about cake in peace. This is cake is really as straightforward as its title- a coffee-flavored cake with milk chocolate chips suspended throughout. There is a coffee wash brushed across the surface too. The coffee wash is basically coffee liqueur, coffee and sugar stirred together. It doesn't have to be heated to dissolve the sugar. In fact, the undissolved crystals of sugar are the very reason why I love this coffee wash. When you apply it onto the cake's surface, it forms a thin crust and gives a little crunch to the cake. I made a rum pound cake with a similar glaze before and it was fantastic too. You should totally try it. Highly recommended.

I would like if the cake itself had more coffee flavour but I had no other complaints. It is very flavorful and not overly sweet. I bet white chocolate chips instead of milk would go wonderfully with the cake as well. Or perhaps caramel. Try these suggestions and let me know?

Coffee and Milk Chocolate Chip Cake
makes a 10 to 12 inch bundt cake
adapted from Baking by Flavour

For the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 tsp instant espresso powder
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening (I just used all butter)
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
4 eggs
2 cups mini milk chocolate chips

For the coffee wash:
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp coffee liqueur, like Kahlua
2 tbsp cold strong coffee (I just used more coffee liqueur)
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp sugar

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 10 to 12 inch bundt pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg together.

Whisk the buttermilk, vanilla and instant espresso powder together.

Cream the butter and shortening together until smooth. Add in the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate the first before adding the next, until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the buttermilk mixture in 2, alternating them. Fold in the milk chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out mostly clean, with moist crumbs attached. Cool the cake in the pan for about 5 minutes before unmolding onto a rack.

Make the coffee wash: Combine the coffee liqueur, coffee and sugar together in a bowl.

Brush the wash onto the surface of the cake. Cool completely before slicing.