Looking for a lighter version of a birthday buttercream cake? This Biscoff cake uses lighter ingredients that don’t take away from the taste but only add to it! Creamy mascarpone makes this dessert taste like cookie butter caramel cheesecake in between rich cake layers. Ready in less than 2 hours!
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
– Simple ingredients.
– Lighter than buttercream cakes.
– Unique flavor.
– Goes great with a cup of tea. Oh, and since this cake is so sweet, you might want to swap the sugar in your tea for something lighter!
Ingredients
Flour – all-purpose or cake flour.
Vanilla – use good quality extract or paste. Otherwise, skip vanilla!
Lotus Biscoff cookies – I used a different brand of speculoos cookies as the store did not carry the original. They tasted just like the real deal, though!
For the filling
Mascarpone – can use cream cheese instead,
Jam – optional.
You can add 3-4 tbsp powdered sugar if you would like your filling sweeter.
For the icing
If you don’t have powdered sugar, use a coffee grinder to make some!
How to Bring Butter and Eggs to Room Temperature Fast
Cut the butter into small cubes and leave it at room temperature for 20 minutes. Do not try to heat it in the microwave as it will melt and then you won’t be able to bring it back to its prior shape.
Place the eggs into a bowl with hot water for 5 minutes.
Substitutions and Swaps
If you don’t have the original Biscoff spread, use cookie butter instead, they are similar in flavor and texture!
To make gluten-free Biscoff cake you will need more than just gluten-free flour. Biscoff spread is made with cookies so you will need to make your own homemade gluten-free biscoff spread first, and then make gluten-free cake sponges which you will need a separate recipe for. If that is too much work for you, check out my gluten-free brownie cake instead!
This recipe is peanut and sesame-free if you are allergic to these ingredients.
Tools You Might Need
– Hand mixer (or a stand mixer)
– 2 of 8 or 9-inch (20-23 cm) cake pans.
– 3 mixing bowls (minimum)
– Whisk
– Cake strips (optional) – ensures that the cake is baked evenly and the sides are not burned.
– Oven thermometer (optional)
– Digital scale (strongly recommended). If you are serious about cooking and especially baking, you will only benefit from getting a digital scale (less than 10$!)
– Cooling rack (optional but helpful with many other recipes)
– Plastic wrap.
How to Make Lotus Biscoff Cake
Step 1 – Mix the wet ingredients
Preheat the oven to 160C/320F and line the cake tins (also called sandwich tins but have nothing to do with sandwiches) with parchment paper. Beat butter with sugar for no less than 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated. Add melted and cooled biscoff spread with vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
Step 2 – Mix the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Crush the cookies into small pieces. Add the dry ingredients and the cookies to the wet ingredients and fold them in with a rubber spatula until you don’t see any spots of flour.
Step 3 – Bake the sponges
Separate the batter into two cake tins evenly (as much as possible) and place them onto the middle rack in the oven for the next 35-40 minutes but check the cakes at 30 minutes mark to make sure they are not burning. Take the cakes out when the toothpick comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool for 5 minutes before taking them out. Then, place them onto a cooling rack (if you have one) for 10-15 minutes until they are not too hot anymore. Then, wrap them into foil and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to cool (it will help handle the cakes better).
Step 4 – Making the filling and the icing
While the cakes are cooling down, make the filling and the icing. Add mascarpone with biscoff, sugar, and vanilla and mix with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer) until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
For the icing, mix mascarpone and sugar, then cover with plastic wrap and place into the fridge until ready to use.
Grind the cookies in a food processor for decorating later.
Step 5 – Assembling the cake
If your cake has a dome in the middle, cut it off to make sure the cake is flat. Then, you can cut off the sides of the cake if they are lower than the rest of it (optional)
Place the cake onto a cake stand or a container box (if you are planning to transport it) as you begin to assemble. This step will ensure you don’t have to move the whole cake when it’s done.
Place the first layer, and spread a thin layer of jam of choice. Then, spread the mascarpone filling evenly with a spatula. Dump all the filling into the middle of the cake and spread to the sides by making circle-like motions.
Place the top layer onto the filling and spread the mascarpone icing on the top and the sides of the cake. The mascarpone is soft so the icing will have streaks left by the spatula.
Take the ground cookies and sprinkle them onto one half of the cake. Gently tap the sides of the cake with the cookie crumbs. Place a few cookies on top of the cake for decoration.
Keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
How to Freeze Biscoff Cake
You can freeze the cake layers before assembling them by wrapping them in plastic wrap and placing them in the freezer. They will keep for 3 months. Let the cakes thaw for a couple of hours or place them into the oven at 150 degrees for about 5 minutes. It is better to rather let your cake thaw, though.
Expert Tips
– Use room temperature ingredients to ensure the best texture. For the filling and icing, it is ok to use cold mascarpone.
– If your batter split when adding the eggs it means that you did not beat the butter with sugar long enough or that you used cold butter. If this happens, just proceed with the process.
– Bake the cakes at 160C/320F to ensure slow rising and prevent a dome from forming on top of the cake layers.
– You can make the filling and frosting ahead of time and keep them in the fridge for 2-3 days.
– It is very important you measure your flour correctly. For that stir the flour with a spoon to make sure it is not compressed and scoop the flour into the cup, then shave off the excess with a back side of a knife. Otherwise, use a digital scale.
– Folding the flour into the wet ingredients is important because it prevents gluten development which would make cakes tough like bread.
– If you noticed that your cake layers often burn in your oven I recommend you get both an oven thermometer and cake strips. Most ovens are not 100% accurate on their temperatures and cake strips will prevent the sides of the cakes from burning.
– Parchment paper will make it easier to separate the cakes from the tins.
– It is very important to wait for the cake to cool before decorating as otherwise the icing and the filling will melt.
Biscoff FAQ
Yes, you can make a rectangular cake by pouring the batter into a brownie tin. You can even make a one-layer cake if you pour all batter into the tin. Spread the filling on top of the cake later. You will not need to icing in this case!
If you don’t have two smaller cake tins or if they don’t fit onto one rack in the oven you can bake them one after another. Otherwise, yes, it is possible to bake it all in one deep tin but you will need to increase the baking time. Check it with a toothpick after an hour and continue adding 5-10 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. When the cake is ready, freeze it for 15-20 minutes before cutting it in half as it will be easier to handle that way.
To make this cake fancier swap the icing for fondant and decorate as you like!
You can! You will need to adjust the recipe depending on how many more layers you are adding. Check out this article to learn the process of making a tiered cake.
I wouldn’t recommend making cupcakes with this batter as it is denser than regular cupcake batter.
Other Recipes You Might Like
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Easy Biscoff Cake
Equipment
- Digital scale (strongly recommended). If you are serious about cooking and especially baking, you will only benefit from getting a digital scale. It only costs a few bucks, yet, you will be able to improve thousands of recipes by using it.
Ingredients
- 140 grams (â…” cup) unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 150 grams (1¼ cups) all-purpose flour cake flour works, too
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 15 lotus cookies
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract or paste
- 220 grams (1 cup + 2 tbsp) Biscoff spread melted and cooled
- 120 grams (½ cup + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar can use brown sugar
For the Filling
- 250 grams (1 cup + 2 tbsp) mascarpone can use cold
- 270 grams (1¼ cups + 2 tbsp) Biscoff spread can use cold
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar optional
For the Icing
- 250 grams (1 cup + 2 tbsp) mascarpone
- 35 grams (â…“ cup) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320F and line the cake tins (also called sandwich tins but have nothing to do with sandwiches) with parchment paper. Beat butter with sugar for no less than 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated. Add melted and cooled biscoff spread with vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
- In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Crush the cookies into small pieces. Add the dry ingredients and the cookies to the wet ingredients and fold them in with a rubber spatula until you don’t see any spots of flour.
- Separate the batter into two cake tins evenly (as much as possible) and place them onto the middle rack in the oven for the next 35-40 minutes but check the cakes at 30 minutes mark to make sure they are not burning. Take the cakes out when the toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for 5 minutes before taking them out. Then, place them onto a cooling rack (if you have one) for 10-15 minutes until they are not too hot anymore. Then, wrap them into foil and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to cool (it will help handle the cakes better).
- While the cakes are cooling down, make the filling and the icing. Add mascarpone with biscoff, sugar, and vanilla and mix with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer) until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- For the icing, mix mascarpone and sugar, then cover with plastic wrap and place into the fridge until ready to use.Grind the cookies in a food processor for decorating later.
- If your cake has a dome in the middle, cut it off to make sure the cake is flat. Then, you can cut off the sides of the cake if they are lower than the rest of it (optional)Place the cake onto a cake stand or a container box (if you are planning to transport it) as you begin to assemble. This step will ensure you don’t have to move the whole cake when it's done.Place the first layer, and spread a thin layer of jam of choice. Then, spread the mascarpone filling evenly with a spatula. Dump all the filling into the middle of the cake and spread to the sides by making circle-like motions.Place the top layer onto the filling and spread the mascarpone icing on the top and the sides of the cake. The mascarpone is soft so the icing will have streaks left by the spatula.Take the ground cookies and sprinkle them onto one half of the cake. Gently tap the sides of the cake with the cookie crumbs. Place a few cookies on top of the cake for decoration.Keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Oh my! I absolutely LOVE biscoff cookies and this just sounds over the top delicious! I first fell in love with biscoff cookies while traveling and now always have some in my cupboard. Definitely gonna try this recipe out!
I love Biscoff, too! Thank you for your feedback!
Oh my goodness YUM! This recipe sounds so amazing. I love light and fluffy cakes. Ples topping it with biscoff cookies is such a great idea. Can’t wait to try it out.
xo Naomi
https://happilydwell.com/
Thank you so much! I hope you like the end result just as much! 🙂
This looks so good!
We have all the ingredients for this but never thoughts to make it. I appreciate your sharing this yummy recipe!
Thank you!
Thank you for this recipe and the expert tips! I haven’t heard this cake to my knowledge but lighter cakes can be so yummy so would be excited to try this cake! Thanks for sharing! This looks delicious!
Thank you so much for the feedback