Coffee and Walnut is a very popular flavour cake, but do you offer it in your menu through fear of it being just a bit too tricky to make? This Easy Coffee and Walnut Cake Recipe is simple to follow, needs no fancy ingredients, other than coffee and walnuts, and means you can add another flavour to your list of offerings.

Back when I had my Cake Shop and Tea Room, we would sell loads of Coffee and Walnut Cake. It was one of those flavours, that as soon as it was put on the counter a slice would be bought. Oddly, it is a very 'male' flavour. That's not to say women don't like it, but I swear we sold more of it to men than ladies.

Coffee and Walnut Wedding Cake

We also used to make a lot of coffee and walnut tiers in wedding cakes. It's a great flavour for wedding cakes, because it's a little different from the usual Vanilla or Chocolate, but not too different that people get scared to include it.

This easy Coffee and Walnut recipe, doesn't really have a 'recipe' as such.

Easy Recipe

The recipe is determined by the weight of your eggs. This means this recipe can be adapted from a small 4" cake, to a huge 14" cake using the same technique. If you're making an 8" birthday cake with 3 layers I'd recommend using 7 eggs, if you're making a 10" tier with 3 layers I'd recommend 11 eggs, but if you're making a 4" top tier with 3 layers I'd go for 2 eggs.

Another alternative to this technique is my Best Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe.

My book on how to make a Light and Fluffy Sponge Cake, which uses the same technique, also has a handy table to tell you how many eggs you need for each size of cake.

Start by making your coffee syrup. Do this by making a really strong coffee. I use -3-4 heaped teaspoons of instant coffee dissolved in 50ml -75ml of boiling water.

Then weigh your eggs, in their shells. Use the same weight for your butter, sugar and flour. So for example, if the eggs weigh 100gms, you should also use 100gms of butter or baking spread, 100gms of caster sugar and 100gms flour.

Pro Baking Tip: Use plain flour and add 1tspn of baking powder per 100gms of flour for the best ratios.

When you make your cake you will, of course, crack the eggs and therefore loose the weight of the shells. Add that weight back by adding 1 x tablespoon of coffee flavour per egg you use.

I then use 50gms of walnut pieces per egg used for a good ratio of cake to walnut crunch.

Flavour Options

Miss out the walnuts and team it with Chocolate Buttercream for a Mocha Cake

Swap out the walnuts for Pecans.

Swap out the Caster Sugar for Light Brown Sugar for a more caramel flavour.

Easy Coffee and Walnut Cake

Bronya Seifert

This has no specific measurements, but is the best balanced Coffee and Walnut Cake recipe. It is a true British Classic Cake flavour, and perfect to have with an afternoon cuppa.

This recipe will make a 2 layer 6" cake (or loaf cake). For a 7" use 3 eggs and the same technique.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Course cake, Dessert

Servings

Ingredients

Cake

2 Eggs Weighed in theri shell
Same Weight as Eggs Baking Spread or Butter
Same Weight as Eggs Caster Sugar
Same Weight as Eggs Plain Flour. You can use self raising and omit the baking powder.
1 tspn Baking Powder for every 100gms Flour
1 tbsn Coffee syrup for every egg used
50 gms Walnut Pieces for every egg used

Coffee Syrup

3-4 Heaped tspn Instant Coffee
50 ml Boiling Water

Buttercream

125 gms Block Butter
300 gms Icing Sugar
Fully cooled Coffee Syrup

Instructions

Cake

Preheat your oven to 160c fan, 180c no fan, gas mark 3 to 4, 350f
Prepare 2 x 6" cake tins by greasing the sides with butter and lining with baking parchment
Weigh the eggs in their shells and note the weight
In your mixer bowl put the same weight as the eggs of Butter/Baking Spread and Caster Sugar
Beat until light and fluffy
Crack the eggs into a separate bowl, weighing them to see what the weight is without the shells
Add 1 tbspn of coffee syrup per egg
In another bowl, weigh out the same weight as the eggs, of plain flour and add 1 tspn of baking powder for every 100gsm of flour
With you mixer on low, add one egg at a time to the butter and sugar mixer.
If the mix looks like its starting to curdle, add a spoon of flour
Once all the egg mix is added and mixed well remove from the mixer
Add the flour and gently fold in until you have a smooth mix of a dropping consistency
Lastly add three quarters of the walnut pieces
Divide the mixture into the 2 tins and smooth to the edges. Making a dent in the middle so the cake doesn't dome too much when baked
Sprinkle a few more chopped walnuts on top, and just poke them through the surface
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until well risen, golden on top, a skewer comes out of the centre clean, and when lightly pressed with your finger it bounces back
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, before removing from the tins and transferring to a wire rack to cool fully

Buttercream

In your stand mixer bowl mix together the butter and icing sugar
Start with your mixer on low, then gradually turn up to high
Add coffee syrup to taste
Mix on high for a minimum of 5 minutes.
Assemble the cake by sandwiching buttercream between cake layers, before finishing the top with more buttercream and some crushed Walnuts