I was trying to decide what to make for my Dad’s birthday this year and as I hadn’t made him a coffee cake before I decided on this recipe.
There is a lot of butter and eggs in my recipe but I wanted a substantial sized cake and this was the best combination of ingredients I tried for the outcome I wanted and yes it is a bit extravagant for a simple cake but it is my Dad’s 85th birthday cake! I have put walnuts on top of the buttercream in the middle of the cake and on the top so if you don’t like walnuts you could use different nuts or leave them out all together.
To start pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) and line and grease two 8” cake tins (Mine are 4” deep)
Boil the kettle and mix the coffee with the water and set aside to cool.
This is one of the few recipes where I use the creaming method and I think it is well worth it with this cake recipe. I have tried this recipe with the all in one method and prefer the results using the creaming method.
In the bowl of a stand mixer put the butter and sugar and cream until light and fluffy.
Put the eggs in a jug or bowl and mix with a fork. Then add the eggs gradually until they are all combined. Do this slowly so the mixture doesn’t curdle.
Finally add the flour, baking powder and cooled coffee then mix again.
Divide the mixture equally between the two tins.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins slightly then transfer to a wire cooling tray.
Next make the buttercream. Put the butter, coffee and sieved icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
Put the buttercream in an icing bag with a Wilton 1A nozzle or you could use a star nozzle. If you don’t have any piping nozzles you can spread the buttercream on the cake instead.
Place the first cake on a plate or stand that you want to use and pipe round the edge of the cake until you get to the middle.
Sprinkle half of the chopped walnuts on top of the buttercream.
Then place the second cake on the top and press down slightly.
Then the same as before pipe round the edge of the cake until you get to the middle then to finish sprinkle with the remaining walnuts.
Coffee & Walnut Cake
Sarah’s servings : 12
Sarah's skill: Medium
Baking time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients:
Cake
300g Soft unsalted butter
300g Caster sugar
5 Large eggs
1 Large egg yolk
300g Self Raising flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
3Tbsp Espresso coffee powder mixed with 3tsp boiling water
Butter icing:
200g Butter
400g Icing Sugar
2Tbsp Espresso coffee powder mixed with 2tsp boiling water
75g Chopped walnuts
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) and line and grease two 8” cake tins (Mine are 4” deep).
In the bowl of a stand mixer put the butter and sugar and cream until light and fluffy.
Put the eggs in a jug or bowl and mix using a fork. Then add the eggs gradually until they are all combined.
Finally add the flour, baking powder and cooled coffee then mix again.
Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tins then transfer to a wire cooling tray.
To make the buttercream put the butter, coffee and sieved icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk until smooth and soft enough to pipe.
Put the buttercream in an icing bag with a Wilton 1A nozzle or you can use any star nozzle. If you don’t have any piping nozzles you can spread the buttercream on the cake instead.
Place the first cake on a plate or stand that you want to use and pipe round the edge of the cake until you get to the middle.
Sprinkle half of the chopped walnuts on top of the buttercream then place the second cake on the top and press down slightly.
Exactly the same as before pipe round the edge of the cake until you get to the middle.
To finish sprinkle with the remaining walnuts.
Sarah’s extra slice…….
The icing nozzle I used was a Wilton 1A.
The cake tins I used were 4” deep PME 8” cake tins.
You could make a 3 tier cake with the same mixture divided into 3 tins and double the buttercream recipe. The baking time will be reduced by 5 minutes.
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