Coffee and Walnut Cake

Coffee and Walnut Cake

Another birthday and a request for a favourite cake of my brother-in-law. Well after all it's his birthday so he can have whichever cake he likes, and he chose Coffee and Walnut Cake.  This is the first time I have made Coffee and Walnut Cake, and I must say I was delighted with the results. It had an excellent even bake, good rise, was moist and light. What a shame then that I could not eat it - I’m afraid I just don’t like walnuts, so no cake for me. It received rave reviews from those in the family that did tuck in, most of them not settling for just one piece.

Recipe – Coffee and Walnut Cake

Oven temperature – 180°C / Gas mark 4

2 8-inch cake tins, lined and greased

Ingredients

6 oz light muscovado sugar

6 oz butter or margarine (I used Stork)

3 eggs

6 oz SR flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

3 tbsp strong black coffee

4 oz chopped walnut pieces

Walnut halves for decorating

Frosting

4 oz butter

7 oz icing sugar

1 tbsp strong black coffee

½ tsp vanilla extract

Method

Cream together the butter and muscovado sugar, until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and coffee, beating well.

Sift in the flour and baking powder, folding gently.  Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Divide between the two cake tins and bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or so, the sponge should be springy to the touch. Turn onto a cooling rack.

For the frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar, adding the coffee and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Split the frosting to sandwich the cake together and to cover the top. If you have any spare walnuts I also like to sprinkle some finely chopped walnuts onto the frosting that is sandwiching the two cakes together.   Spread the remaining frosting on the top of the cake, adding the walnut halves to decorate the top of the cake.

Coconut Cake

I thought I would also share with you my eldest sister’s birthday cake, whose birthday is also the same day as my brother-in-law. Her cake of choice was a Coconut Cake, which was being baked by my other sister. Now the bad news for me is, yes you guessed it, I don’t like coconut. What is this some kind of conspiracy? - walnuts, coconut; next thing you know someone will want a cake with marzipan on it! Another pet hate.

Coconut Cake

As you can see from the photo above, one of my niece’s Sylvanian Family figures gets in on the cake action much to her delight.

I’m sure by now that you are all very worried about me. I’ve help members of my family celebrate birthdays and yet there is no cake for me. I simply could not sit there and watch others eat cake whilst I have none, or my niece for that matter, who also did not care for coconut or coffee and walnut. So I made a particular favourite of mine, Eccles Cakes which I will share with you all in another post soon.

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Labels: baking , birthdays , cake , recipe