Coffee and walnut cake My Cotswold Kitchen

Coffee and walnut cake

Prep time: 30 mins plus 1 hour cooling
Cooking time: 25-28 mins

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

For the cake (all need to be at room temp)

  • 200g stork margarine
  • 200g golden caster sugar
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 4 large eggs
  • 15g instant espresso powder, dissolved into 15ml of boiling water (allow to cool) 
  • A little milk if needed
  • A little flavourless oil

For the icing:

  • 150 g softened butter
  • 300 g icing sugar sieved
  • 15g instant espresso powder, dissolved into 15ml of boiling water (allow to cool)
  • Walnut halves to decorate.

Method:

  1. You will need two deep 20cm cake tins. Line the base of the tins with baking parchment and grease the sides with a little flavourless oil.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan
  3. For the cake: put the margarine and sugar into a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl. Beat together using the stand mixer or a hand mixer until light and fluffy. 
  4. Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of the flour and mix gently until combined before adding the next egg.
  5. Gently fold in the remaining flour and baking powder.
  6. Fold in the coffee and add a little milk if the mixture is a little stiff.
  7. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins. Level the tops with a palette knife. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the sponges are springy to the touch and golden.
  8. Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then run a small palette knife around the edge of the tins and turn them out onto a wire cooling rack. Remove the paper and place them underside down on a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely.
  9. For the icing: place the butter into a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl. Using the stand mixer or hand mixer start to beat the butter then gradually add the sieved icing sugar and then the coffee.
  10. Choose the cake with the best flat top then place the other cake onto your serving plate or stand.
  11. Spread half of the icing onto the bottom cake using a large palette knife. Sandwich the cakes together.
  12. Using half of the remaining icing. ice the top of the cake. You can dip your palette knife into boiling water then dry it and smooth it over the icing for a perfect finish.
  13. Fill a piping bag with the remaining icing fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake. Top each swirl with a walnut half.