Coffee Cake with Coffee Icing

This buttery cake with yogurt, cinnamon, coffee, cocoa, raisins, and walnuts is frosted with a coffee and cream cheese icing with a touch of orange is perfect for the fall weather.

Coffee Cake with Coffee Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups plain yogurt

Coffee Icing – recipe follows
Additional chopped walnuts and raisins

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.   Butter a 10-inch tube pan; set aside.  Combine brown sugar, raisins, walnuts, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and coffee powder in a small bowl; set aside.
2.  Cream butter in a large mixer bowl.  Gradually beat in granulated sugar; beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Beat in vanilla.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together twice.  Stir flour mixture, a third at a time, into butter mixture, alternating with a third of the yogurt.  Beat just until well mixed.
3.  Spoon a fourth of the batter into the buttered tube pan.  Sprinkle with a third of the raisin mixture.  Repeat layering twice; top with remaining batter.  Bake about 55 to 60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted in the deepest part of cake.  Cool in pan on wire rack.
4.  Make coffee icing.
5.  Unmold cooled cake and set on serving plate.  Frost sides and top of cake.  Sprinkle top with some raisins and walnuts.

Coffee Icing:
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
2 Tablespoons hot water
1 package (8 ounces) block-style cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1-1/4 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon orange juice
pinch salt

1.  Mix coffee powder and water; cool to room temperature.
2.  Beat cream cheese and butter together in bowl of electric mixer until light.  Gradually beat in sugar.  Beat in vanilla, orange juice, salt, and coffee mixture.  Beat until almost double in volume, about 4 minutes.