Best Mother's Day Bakes 2023

Instead of buying your mum a present for Mother's Day this year, why not get creative and make her something instead?

Most mums love a sweet bite with their coffee so baking her a sugary treat is exactly the kind of surprise that's sure to be well received. We've chosen a few of our favourite recipes to share with you, all of which are guaranteed mum-pleasers. And best of all you can either bake them ahead of time or share some quality time with your mum by baking them together!

Presenting our Mother's Day 2023 bakes…

Caramel-drizzled banoffee bake

Part cheesecake, part traybake, all delicious! 

Ingredients

To make a caramel-drizzled banoffee bake, you will need:

For the base - 

• 175g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the tin

• 250g digestive biscuits, crushed to a fine powder

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the banana ripple - 

• 2 tbsp icing sugar

• 1 tbsp cocoa

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 3 medium bananas, chopped

For the filling - 

• 750g full-fat soft cheese

• 200g mascarpone

• 175g light brown soft sugar

• 2 tsp vanilla bean extract

• 3 eggs

• 2 1/2 tbsp plain flour

• 100g caramel

To serve - 

• 300ml double cream

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 2 tbsp caramel

• cocoa, for dusting

• large handful baked banana chips (optional)

First, butter and line the base and sides of a 23cm square loose-bottomed cake tin. Put the biscuit crumbs in a bowl with the butter, cinnamon and a small pinch of salt and mix until fine. Tip into the base of the tin, then level off and press the mixture down to compact it. Place in the fridge.

Next, heat the oven to 120C/100C fan/gas 1. Mix the icing sugar, cocoa and cinnamon in a bowl, then stir in the banana and set aside.

To make the filling, put the soft cheese, mascarpone, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs and flour in a bowl. Beat with a whisk until smooth, then gently fold in the banana mixture.

Remove the base from the fridge and pour over the filling, then drizzle the 100g caramel on top.

Bake for one hour, then leave inside the oven - with the door open - until cool. Once cooled, transfer to the fridge to chill overnight.

When ready to serve, make the sweet cream topping. Beat the cream and sugar in a bowl until it forms soft peaks. Remove the cheesecake from the tin and spread the cream over the top, drizzle with the 2 tbsp caramel, dust with cocoa and scatter with the banana chips. 

Lemon layer cake

A fancy take on a classic, this bake just screams 'Mother's Day'!

Ingredients

To make a lemon layer cake, you will need:

• 225g unsalted butter, softened

• 225g caster sugar

• 4 large eggs

• 225g self-raising flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 75g natural yogurt

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

• 3 lemons, zested

For the drizzle - 

• 150g granulated sugar

• 3 lemons, zest of 2 pared into strips, juiced

For the icing - 

• 150g unsalted butter, softened

• 150g icing sugar, sieved

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

• 300g full-fat soft cheese

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 mins until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, then fold in the flour and baking powder until well incorporated, then the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until golden.

Next, make the drizzle by tipping the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water into a small pan set over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the liquid is syrupy. Remove the zest to a sheet of baking parchment using a slotted spoon, then remove the syrup from the heat.

Once the sponges have cooled in the tins for at least 10 mins, pour over the warm drizzle and leave to cool.

For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together for 4-5 mins until smooth. Add the vanilla and soft cheese and beat for 4 mins more until thick and creamy.

Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe just under half the icing around the edge of one of the sponges, using a circular motion for a wavy effect. Pipe a little more icing over the empty middle and smooth with the back of a spoon. Chill for one hour until set. Top with the second sponge, then pipe eight blobs of icing around the edge at regular intervals, leaving a gap between each. Spoon the candied lemon zest into each gap, then serve.

Raspberry ripple blondies

Your mum will love this combo of fresh, juicy raspberries and two types of irresistible chocolate!

Ingredients

To make 12 blondies, you will need:

• 150g raspberries

• 200g light brown soft sugar

• 225g unsalted butter, plus a little extra for the tin

• 100g caster sugar

• 200g plain flour

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 3 eggs

• 1tsp vanilla extract

• 125g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

• 125g white chocolate, chopped into chunks

Place all but a handful of raspberries into a saucepan, along with 1 tsp brown sugar and 2 tsp water. Cook over a medium heat until the raspberries turn jammy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Next, melt the butter in a pan over a low-medium heat. Tip in both the sugars and cook until the mixture is bubbling and the sugars have dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Butter a 20 x 30cm tin and line with baking paper. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, add the eggs and vanilla, then mix well. Scatter over the dark and white chocolate chunks and fold to combine. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Dot over teaspoonfuls of the raspberry compote, then use a skewer to gently swirl it through the batter to create a marbled effect. Scatter over the reserved raspberries, then bake for 40-45 mins until set with a slightly gooey centre. Leave to cool completely in the tin, then cut into squares to serve.

Happy Mother's Day 2023 from Cafe2U!

At Cafe2U, we believe that one of the best ways of showing your love is through food and drink, and these Mother's Day bakes are sure to make your mum feel loved and appreciated, especially if you pair them with one of our top quality coffees!

Our vans will be on the road as usual over the weekend so get in touch here if you'd like some coffee delivering to you or your mum's door.

The Best Cakes To Have With Coffee

Everybody knows that hot drinks and biscuits are among the all-time great combos and easily up there with the likes of strawberries and cream or fish and chips. But for some reason, the combination of hot drinks and cakes is far less celebrated, despite both items being sensational.

With the latest season of The Great British Bake Off coming to an end later this month, we thought it was high time someone turned the spotlight on the best cakes to enjoy with a hot drink. Luckily, we know a thing or two about coffee and the best things to enjoy with it, so we've compiled a list of the best cakes to pair with a steaming hot brew.

8. Banana bread

Don't worry, it's ok to admit to liking banana bread again - enough time has passed since everyone started chain-baking it at the start of the first lockdown. Putting social acceptability aside, there's no getting away from the fact that banana bread goes beautifully with a cup of coffee, with both accentuating the others' sweetness to perfection.

7. Vanilla sponge

Traditional and tasty, the vanilla sponge is among the most popular cakes ever created. It's the hint of vanilla that makes this such a good option to enjoy with a cup of coffee and if you ever need a safe bet to make ahead of a tea party, look no further. 

Ironically it's the vanilla sponge's 'play it safe' approach that counts against it in this instance; there are so many cakes to choose from these days that coffee enthusiasts want something a little more exciting with their drink.

6. Blueberry cake 

A cake that has become increasingly popular over the last decade or so, blueberry cakes (or muffins - they're just small cakes, after all) are sweet and juicy, enhancing the natural sweetness of coffee while also offsetting its acidity. Through no fault of its own, however, blueberry cake lacks the richness required to really bring out the best of coffee, so sixth place it is.

5. Cardamom cake

Carda what now?!

It doesn't matter if you've never heard of it, you really need to try it. Cardamom has an aromatic smell and a mild, mint-like taste that works perfectly in a cake, especially one that you're enjoying with a coffee. Trust us, the combination is sublime!

4. Lemon drizzle cake

A bit of a controversial choice in some circles due to its strong flavour, lemon drizzle cake is so light, it's arguably the most moreish cake ever devised and deserves its place on this list for that reason alone. If you don't think lemon and coffee belong together, think again.

3. Madeira cake 

Another criminally underrated gem, madeira cake is a soft, buttery masterpiece. It's strength lies in its mild flavour which enables it to enhance the taste of your favourite coffee without distracting from it. Try it once and you'll be hooked for life.

2. Carrot cake

Now we're talking. Rich and delicious, with incredibly Roger moreish icing and, if you're lucky, chopped nuts, carrot cake is essentially several cakes in one. What makes it so good with coffee are the spices, especially cinnamon and ginger, which are among the most popular additions to a cup of coffee. Welcome to cake heaven.

1. Chocolate cake

No list of the greatest cakes to have with a coffee would be complete without chocolate cake, which combines two of the greatest pleasures known to mankind (chocolate and cake). Sweet, rich and gooey, anyone who has ever enjoyed a mocha knows how delicious the combination of coffee and chocolate is. Resistance is futile.

Whichever cake is your personal favourite, pairing it with one of our quality Cafe2U coffees is guaranteed to make it even better - find your nearest van here to make a booking.