Coffee Walnut Cake – A delicious recipe for Coffee Walnut Cake, which I remember from my childhood as my grandmother used to bake this, and it still remains a favourite of mine.
For Sunday Afternoon Tea
I always think that where the French are good with patisserie, we in the UK cannot be beaten when it comes to puddings and cakes; cakes in particular are a speciality of British baking, and with the popularity of The Great British Bake Off, I suspect the programme has encouraged many home bakers to make their way to the kitchen, and get sifting the flour and beating the eggs. Today’s recipe for Coffee Walnut Cake is a classic which I remember from my childhood, as my grandmother used to bake this, and it remains a favourite of mine.
We are a nation of cake lovers……old family favourites are the ubiquitous Victoria Sandwich, Lemon Drizzle Cake, Madeira Cake, Seed Cake, Dundee Cake, Chocolate Cake and Coffee Walnut Cake, which is a personal favourite of mine. There’s something very “ye olde worlde tea room” about a lovely coffee walnut cake, it beckons all cake and coffee lovers with its creamy good looks, and it’s the mainstay of the afternoon tea table.
I remember a wonderful old tea room in Yorkshire, near to where I used to live – they always had a least four home-made cakes on offer, of which a grand coffee walnut cake would be sitting amongst a fresh orange cake, chocolate cake and always a farmhouse fruit cake or Dundee cake. Although I was always tempted by the fresh orange cake, it was invariably a slice of coffee walnut cake that made its way to my table with a pot of tea or a cup of coffee.
Today’s recipe for Coffee Walnut Cake, is based on my mum’s recipe (which is her mother’s recipe, my grandma) that she used to make for Sunday tea, but I’ve increased the quantities to make a large cake that will serve twelve people with ease (12 slices). Don’t forget to use the best quality instant coffee you can lay your hands on, as that makes a difference to the taste. The recipe is shared below, and do let me know if you make this scrumptious cake, Karen
Coffee Walnut Cake
Print recipe
| Serves | 12 slices |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 25 minutes |
| Total time | 55 minutes |
| Allergy | Egg, Wheat |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Dessert, Snack |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Serve Cold |
| Occasion | Birthday Party, Casual Party, Easter, Formal Party, Valentines day |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
Cake
- 225g unsalted, softened butter
- 225g caster sugar
- 4 large free-range eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee mixed with 1 tablespoon boiling water
- 225g self-raising flour
- 75g chopped walnuts
Buttercream icing
- 175g softened butter
- 300g icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee mixed with 3 tablespoons boiling water
- 50g chopped walnuts
- 12 walnut halves
Note
A delicious recipe for Coffee Walnut Cake, which I remember from my childhood, as my grandmother used to bake this, and it remains a favourite of mine.
Directions
| Step 1 | Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease and line 2 x 8” (20cm) sandwich tins with baking paper. |
| Step 2 | Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy – I use a hand-held whisk for this. |
| Step 3 | Add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, with a tablespoon of flour to stop it curdling, and beat well between each addition of egg and flour. |
| Step 4 | Add any remaining flour, the coffee and walnut and mix well. |
| Step 5 | Divide the cake mixture between the two sandwich tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until well risen and a dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 2 minutes before turning the cakes out onto a wire rack. |
| Step 6 | Whilst the cakes are cooling, make the coffee buttercream; beat the butter together with the icing sugar until pale and fluffy and then add the coffee and chopped walnuts, mix well again and allow to firm up in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes. |
| Step 7 | When the cakes are completely cold, sandwich them together with half of the coffee buttercream. Spread the rest of the buttercream over the top of the cake, and decorate with the walnut halves. |
Ten MORE Homemade Cakes for the Tea Time Table:
“Cut and Come Again” Farmhouse Fruit Cake
“Cut and Come Again” Farmhouse Fruit Cake – A modern take on my maternal grandmother’s boiled fruit cake recipe. My recipe uses Doves Farm White Rye flour, which is lower in gluten than normal wheat flour.
Hazelnut & Chocolate Chip Cappuccino Cake
A glamorous cake that is coffee flavoured with chocolate chips, hazelnuts & a creamy cappuccino frosting.
Welsh Shearing Cake (Cacen Gneifo)
Welsh Shearing Cake (Cacen Gneifo) A traditional recipe for a Welsh seed cake, and one that would have been served to the sheep shearers during shearing season. This buttery cake would have originally used bacon fat in place of butter, although the caraway seeds and peel are authentic to older country recipes.
Confetti “Funfetti” Chiffon Cake
This delightful diary-free cake hides a fun secret – cut into its light as a feather crumb, and you will see a myriad of rainbow flecks inside, like confetti, hence its rather jolly name of a Funfetti or a Confetti Cake! Chiffon Cake recipe adapted from Woman and Home. (You MUST use the correct type of “sprinkles”, the wax coated ones, and not the sugar paste ones – I used Rainbow Jimmies by Wilton from Amazon.co.uk)
Banana Bread Cake with Buttercream
A Banana Bread style cake, which is lighter than the usual banana bread, and is topped and sandwiched together with luscious buttercream. The cakes can be frozen after baking, and cooling and before icing – defrost before adding buttercream
Frosted Ginger Cake with Crystallised Ginger
A delicious frosted ginger cake, which is pretty enough to grace any tea time table! You can make the cake and freeze it before frosting it – just defrost overnight, and then add the frosting when it has completely defrosted.
Duck Egg Victoria Sponge Cake
This light, golden sponge cake is made with duck eggs for a rich, light and fluffy taste and texture, and all that is needed is a filling of jam, and a dusting of caster sugar to finish the cake before serving.
“Kladdkaka” Swedish Chocolate Fudge Cake
Swedish Chocolate Fudge Flower Cake – this is not a true Kladdkaka, as it’s not as gooey as the original cake, but it’s still a soft, rich & fudgy cake with lots of chocolate, and looks as pretty as a picture!
Apple, Lemon and Elderflower Drizzle Cake
A beautiful spring show-stopper gateau-type cake that uses seasonal elderflower cordial with tart Bramley apples and lemon curd; the base cake mixture is a Victoria Sandwich, a British classic that works well with all of the other British ingredients and preserves.
Mary Berry Cherry Cake Recipe
This delicious cherry cake is my adaptation of Mary Berry’s Cherry Cake recipe – I had to reduce the measurements of the cake to fit my smaller savarin mould, as well as adding a little extra lemon zest and juice to the cake and icing. The original recipe was used as the “technical bake” in the first programme of the 5th series in The Great British Bake Off
Jayne says
I’ll have a slice of each please. Oh, you are such a bad girl. I am just wondering if the 16:8 diet will work if I cram this lot in during my ‘eating’ hours?! I am just about to make ‘healthier’ muffins, at the request of the lovely Italian lady who is currently looking after our cats in Turkey – she tried and apparently they were a disaster. Might scrap that idea and move straight on to that deeply unhealthy looking coffee cake…
Karen Burns-Booth says
It’s week 4 on my diet Jayne and we just craved a treat! So, I’m cutting this into very small slices, and like you, will incorporate it into my 16:8 diet regime! Enjoy your weekend, Karen
A Finch says
For us pesky Americans who just refuse to join the rest of the world and go with the metric system: “Pre-heat oven to 180C/250F/Gas mark 4.” should be 350F and not 250
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi there! Well spotted – but I caught it myself before reading this! But thank you so much – a slip of the finger but I’ve amended it, once again, thank you for letting me know, Karen
A Finch says
Thanks Karen, for the recipe. I took the cake to our local brewery to share with some friends and it was a hit! Every last piece was devoured. I look forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks for letting me know – that’s great news! Karen
sherry says
i really like a good coffee and walnut cake. as long as it has heaps of flavour! this looks delicious karen.
Karen Burns-Booth says
It’s a great cake, and as you say, must have a good coffee flavour too. Karen
Micky.d says
Hi again Karen,that duck egg sponge looks to good to eat .so I’m going to try and bake It then eat it.oh that sounds weird but you know what I mean.
Karen Burns-Booth says
The duck egg sponge is fab! Hope you enjoy it if you make it, Karen
Dahn Boquist says
Walnut cake makes me think of my grandma! This looks delicious
Karen Burns-Booth says
It is very reminiscent of my grandmother’s kitchen too! Karen
Jeff the Chef says
What a gorgeous cake! Unfortunately, two of the very few things my husband doesn’t eat are walnuts and coffee, so I might have to make some mighty adjustments
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi Jeff, well, why not make a small one for you then?! And maybe a ginger or banana cake for your husband? Karen
Pepper extract says
I loved the coffee walnut cake.That look delicious.My kids like that very much.
Karen Burns-Booth says
You can’t beat a proper old-fashioned cake, such as this one!
Evelyn says
Can you use espresso powder instead of instant? Looks delish. Dying to try it.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi there Evelyn,
Yes you can use espresso powder!
Karen
Mili @Kitchenguiders says
I made this cake. So delish! Yum!!!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks so much for letting me know! Karen
Deborah says
This cake is mouthwatering. Not only is it scrumptious but truly retro. This old fashioned cake will always be part of the infamous afternoon tea. There are so many variations of a coffee and walnut cake, substituting the classic coffee buttercream with mascarpone or fresh cream but this classic version was the one I needed to enhance my mood and I was in no way disappointed. It bakes perfectly. The texture is light and full of flavour. The buttercream after I had whipped was like a mousse but perfect for piping and the quantity was perfect. If you need a nostalgic cake this is the version to make. It’s very moreish! So go get baking! Thank you for sharing this retro cake Karen
Karen Burns-Booth says
THANK YOU so much Deborah for your lovely, lovely comments! I am SO pleased you loved my coffee walnut cake recipe 🙂 It’s my pleasure to share it with you, Karen
Deborah says
Your are welcome. Yorkshire Day shortly. Next on my baking list is your Madeira cake. Love a classic cake that’s soft and buttery!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Another favourite here too! 🙂