Coffee and walnut cake

UPDATE JULY 2021:
I have re-done this recipe. The first attempt was almost a complete fiasco but the second attempt was perfect.
This time I did not forget the baking powder and the cake rose beautifully.
I also used 2 sandwich cake tins which I will confess is much easier than to cut the cake evenly in half. Place one cake upside down on the cake plate and the top cake facing up. Choose the flatter / nicer looking cake to be on the top.




🔄🔄🔄

As far as we're concerned, there are two reasons for visiting National Trust properties. The first being the magnificent properties themselves many with amazing grounds and gardens, the second the delicious cakes on sale in their cafés. A National Trust visit commands coffee/tea plus cake!
The national Trust quarterly magazine always has recipes. I cut and save a few, the majority being cakes. It so happens that one of these was a Walnut and coffee cake recipe and this is my favourite cake. Let's give it a go!, I said.
I did make a few changes to the recipe though:
  • Used plain flour instead of self-raising flour because there's no need to keep two types of flour at home (plain and self-raising). I just have plain and then add baking powder to it when a raising agent is needed (1 tsp per 100g flour).
  • Used demerara sugar instead of caster sugar because I like it's stronger flavour and it makes cakes yellower.
  • Used espresso coffee in both the batter and the buttercream instead of 20g instant coffee and 15ml of coffee essence, respectively. I don't drink instant coffee and I see no need to use coffee essence when you can use the real deal: espresso, what else?
  • Increased the walnut content from 75g to 100g. It didn't seem enough (I like walnuts!).
  • The recipe called for 2 sandwich cake tins and then adding the cakes together in the end but that would involve double washing up so I decided to bake one cake and cut it in half.
Serves: 12 portions.

 Ingredients:

  • For the cake:
    • 310g plain flour 
    • 3 tsp baking powder
    • 310g unsalted butter
    • 310g sugar 
    • 6 eggs
    • 25ml espresso
    • 100g walnuts
  • For the buttercream:
    • 150g unsalted butter
    • 210g icing sugar
    • 30ml double cream
    • 25ml espresso
Method:
  1. Make the cake:
    1. Butter and flour a 22cm (9 inch) sandwich tin. No, I do not use baking parchment. Two reasons: no need to created more waste and butter does the job beautifully!
    2. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until light and fluffy.
    3. Add half the eggs and whisk to combine.
    4. Add the remaining eggs and whisk well until combined and light.
    5. Add the coffee and walnuts to the mixture and stir well.


    6. Sieve the flour and baking powder into the bowl and use a spatula/wooden spoon to gently fold into the eggs, keeping as much air as you can in the batter.
    7. Add the mixture to the tin and bake for 35-40 min at 170°C. When it's cooked you should be able to insert a skewer in the middle of the cake and it comes out clean.
    8. Let it cool in the tin for 5 min and then remove from the tin and let it cool on a baking rack.
  2. Make the buttercream:
    1. Put the butter in a large bowl and whisk until soft.
    2. Add the coffee and half the icing sugar and whisk until combined.
    3. Add the remaining icing sugar and the double cream and whisk until light and fluffy.
  3. When the cake is cold, cut if lengthways with either a cake leveller or a bread knife and use the buttercream to sandwich and cover the cake.


  4. Decorate the top with some walnuts.

I had a problem with this cake. As you can see in the pictures, there is an uncooked patch in the middle of the cake where the cake sunk and it is a bit stodgy. I left the cake in the oven for 45 min (5 min more than the recipe advised) and the skewer was dry so the cake looked baked but it wasn't. 
It took me a few days to figure out what I had done wrong. In the end, it was such a stupid mistake! I used bicarbonate of soda instead of baking powder!!! The containers are so similar that I mistook one for the other. 
This mistake would have been averted if I used self-raising flour but I am too stubborn to make life easy for myself...

Comments

Post a Comment