Coffee Traybake

Coffee and walnut cake is something that you wil always find on the menu in the UK in coffee shops. It was always a good seller in my cafe and this is an easier recipe as a traybake cake.

This cake is a classic coffee cake with a simple coffee icing and decorated with walnuts. You can put walnuts in the cake mixture if you like. It is a lovely light coffee sponge perfect for any occasion.

It is an easy bake as it’s made using the all in one method so when you want a quick cake for guests this is ideal. It goes well wih a cup of coffee or tea!

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Preheat oven and line a 23cm x 23cm square cake tin with baking parchment.

Make the strong coffee - I used 6 tsp instant coffee mixed with 12 tsp boiling water. Set aside to cool.

IMPORTANT: This is for the cake and the icing.

Put the butter, caster sugar, self raising flour, eggs and coffee into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on a medium speed until the ingredients are creamy and fully combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

While the cake is cooling make the icing. Start by sieving the icing sugar into a medium sized bowl then add 6-8 tsp of strong coffee until the icing is thick but spreadable. If it is too thin it will just run off the sides.

Put the icing into the middle of the cake and smooth with a small spatula to the edges.

Finally add the walnut halves for decoration.

Coffee Traybake

Sarah's servings: 16

Sarah's skill: Easy

Baking time: 25-30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Cake

250g unsalted butter, softened

250g caster sugar

250g self raising flour

4 large free-range eggs

4 tsp cooled strong coffee

Icing

250g icing sugar, sieved

8 tsp cooled strong coffee

50g walnuts, roughly chopped

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) or gas mark 4.

2. Grease and line a 23cm x 23com square cake tin.

3. Make the strong coffee - I used 6 tsp instant coffee mixed with 12 tsp boiling water. Set aside to cool. IMPORTANT: This is for the cake and the icing.

4. Put the butter, caster sugar, self raising flour, eggs and 4 teaspoons of the coffee into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on a medium speed until the ingredients are creamy and fully combined.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

7. While the cake is cooling make the icing. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and add coffee gradually until the icing is a dripping consistency (you may not need it all).

8. Spread the icing over the cake and decorate with the walnuts.

9. Leave to set before cutting into squares.

EQUIPMENT USED

9X9 SQUARE TIN

BAKING PARCHMENT

CAKE RELEASE SPRAY

SMALL SPATULA

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SARAH’S EXTRA SLICE As this is an all-in-one recipe make sure your butter is nice and soft or you will get lumps in your mixture.

You can add the chopped walnuts to the cake mixture if you prefer.

You can freeze the cake un-iced for up to 3 months

I like to use a barista type instant coffee as it is stronger in taste but any instant coffee is fine. I used 6 tsp instant coffee mixed with 12 tsp boiling water. IMPORTANT: This is for the cake and the icing.