Espresso Cake

This is a fabulous cake that I serve when having a coffee night! :-) Its spectacular...people love the look of it!

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Yields: 1 8inch square cake

Ingredients

• Cake

• 2  eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1  tablespoon instant espresso powder
• 1⁄3 cup milk

• Frosting

• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1⁄2 cup butter, softened
• 1  tablespoon instant espresso powder
• 1⁄3 cup milk
• 1 (1 lb) package  10-x confectioners' sugar
• 3  chocolate-covered espresso beans
• 2  leaves mint

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.
3. To prepare your frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl at medium speed until smooth.
4. Dissolve the instant espresso in milk.
5. Add confectioners sugar to cream cheese mixture alternately with milk mixture, beating 1-2 minutes or until blended.
6. Remove 1 cup of frosting from bowl and set aside.
7. To prepare your cake: Using a mixer (on low speed!!) add eggs to remaining frosting in mixing bowl.
8. Add vanilla and beat until blended.
9. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
10. Dissolve espresso granules in milk.
11. Add flour mixture to mixing bowl alternately with milk mixture and continue beating 1-2 mins or until well blended.
12. Pour cake mixture into pan and bake 30-40mins or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
13. Cool cake for 10 minutes and remove from pan.
14. Cool cake completely.
15. Place cake on serving plate.
16. Spread sides and top of cake with frosting that was set aside.
17. Place 3 chocolate covered espresso beans on center of cake and place mint leaves on either side of beans, pointing in towards the center of the beans-- as leaves would be on a flower!
18. ENJOY!