Coffee and Walnut Cake

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This delicious Coffee and Walnut cake is an all-time classic and couldn’t be easier to make!

Flavoured with freshly made coffee, and packed full of walnuts, this is easily in everyone's top 10 favourite cakes.

I want to begin 2023 with a simple, timeless and comforting cake, that's also really simple to make.

In a poll of my friends and family, it seems that this is their favourite cake, and the made me promise not to mess with the recipe!

This Coffee and Walnut Cake is:

• Flavoured with freshly brewed coffee

• Filled with chopped walnuts

• Sandwiched together with coffee buttercream

• Decorated in a simple way with walnut halves

Before you start, here are a few tips to making this cake.

Coffee.

In the past coffee cake has been made using Camp Coffee. (Camp Coffee is a concentrated syrup which is flavoured with coffee and chicory).

This coffee cake is made with freshly made instant coffee, dissolved in boiling water, then allowed to cool.

Use which ever coffee you would normally drink, then you are guaranteed to love it.

Walnuts.

Buy the ready chopped Walnut pieces to save time, although it's really easy to break them up into small pieces from halves.

Baking Margarine.

I prefer to use Stork when baking cakes. It's soft enough to use straight from the fridge, and produces a really light and fluffy cake.

Eggs.

Should always be large and at room temperature. If you only have medium, then add an extra one: they don't weigh the same so you loose volume.

Butter.

Salted butter is best for making the buttercream. The salt counters the sweetness. Don't use margarine contains too much water so you would have to add more icing sugar to get the same thickness.

What size baking tins should I use?

This recipe use deep 7" baking tins - I use 4" deep ones from the supermarket.

This cake is made up of 3 cake layers -

Cake:Buttercream:Cake:Buttercream:Cake

Use a cake board or a nice serving plate to place the cake on.

Place the first cake layer onto the board. Remove the thin top of the cake (this will tare and stop the buttercream sticking to the cake). Cover with a generous amount of coffee buttercream, making sure to get all the way to the edge.

Place the second cake layer on top and repeat the filling.

Place the final cake layer on the top and cover with a thick layer of buttercream. Add Walnut halves for decoration.

Leave it like that or add swirls of the buttercream, to give it a more luxurious feel for a celebration.

Every recipe has been tested by me several times (actually this one is probably more like 100 times) so you can be confident that it will work for you too.

If you need extra help watch the video I have created on how I make this cake from beginning to end. Click here to watch the video.

Keeps for 1 week stored in an airtight container. If you don't have one that is big enough simply wrap in a double layer of clingfilm.

If you have any comments or queries about this recipe then leave a message below and i will answer as soon as I can.

Happy Baking x

SHOWSTOPPER WORTHY BAILEYS CHOCOLATE CAKE

This blog is not affiliated with any brands. I do not receive any money from mentioning brand names. The equipment and brands you see are ones I have used and I can confidently tell you how they work in the recipes I develop.

This sublime cake combines two of everyone's favorite things – Baileys and chocolate – a true show stopper!

Three layers of rich, Baileys-spiked chocolate sponge, sandwiched and topped with smooth Baileys buttercream, to top it off, it’s got chocolate ganache dripping down the sides. Decorate with chocolate curls, and for an extra chocolate hit add Baileys chocolate Truffles.

The chocolate cake is really easy to make. It’s one bowl of a free standing mixer or large bowl and hand held electric whisk, making it easier to clean up!

I think a showstopper like this Baileys cake would be perfect for a grown up celebration, anniversary, birthday or dinner party. It would also be perfect to serve as a very special dessert for Christmas or New Years Eve.

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Why am I releasing this recipe in the middle of October? Simple : Baileys is currently reduced in price, in every supermarket, for the run up to Christmas. Also, the Baileys truffles you see in the photos are only sold at this time of year, when the Christmas chocolates come out.

Have you noticed that I've used the C word 3 times already?! Honestly, I've been thinking about Christmas baking since the beginning of September. When I worked in food manufacturing Christmas was planned in February, so in comparison, I'm pretty late!

Before you start, here are a few tips to making this cake.

Making the Cake.

The batter has more flour and cocoa powder than a traditional chocolate cake. This is because it's needed to counteract the effect of adding all of that liquid in the form of the Baileys.

I use the all in one method for this like most of my cakes, because it's easier and less time consuming. Let's face it, we are all strapped for time, so anything that can be made quickly is a bonus. Plus, who wants to have to wait too long to get their teeth into this beauty!!

Use deep baking tins to allow for the growth in the oven. I use 4" deep ones that can be bought from any supermarket or home store.

Always line your cake tins before you begin to make this cake.

Making the Ganache.

You have always been told that chocolate ganache is made from cream and chocolate. It's true, but did you know that you can actually use other liquids instead of cream.

In this recipe the cream is replaced with Baileys, but the ratios are the same 2:1 Chocolate:Baileys.

Use any dark chocolate you prefer. I have used all kinds of chocolate when making ganache, from the value type to the full Belgian type, and they are all acceptable.

Assembling the Cake.

This cake is made up of 5 layers

Cake:Buttercream:Cake:Buttercream:Cake

Use a cake board or a nice serving plate to place the cake on.

Place the first cake layer onto the board. Cover with a generous amount of Baileys buttercream.

Place the second cake layer on top and repeat the filling.

Place the final cake layer on the top (turning it upside down to give a level top).

Cover the whole cake in a generous layer of Baileys buttercream. Smooth it out if you can, leave it if you can't (either looks great).

Add the chocolate curls to the side of the cake, if using. I use a dessert spoon to do this, less mess.

Put the cake in the fridge for an hour to set the buttercream. Add the Baileys ganache drip to the cake using a piping bag to direct the drips where you want them. Cover with the remaining sauce.

Leave it like that or add swirls of the buttercream, if there's any left. Finish off with the Baileys truffles.

Keeps for 1 week stored in an airtight container. If you don't have one that is big enough simply wrap in a double layer of clingfilm.

Have you tried this recipe yet? Mention @cakes_forallseasons or #cakesforallseasons! I’d love to see what you are getting up to in the kitchen!

TURN STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING INTO A LAYER CAKE

This blog is not affiliated with any brands. I do not receive any money from mentioning brand names. The equipment and brands you see are ones I have used and so I can confidently tell you how they work with the recipes I develop.

It's the beginning of October and my thoughts go deeper into the Autumn vibe. The English classic pudding Sticky Toffee Pudding, comes to mind. I find the pudding a little too sweet for my tastes but it's a favourite of my husbands. I decided to make it into a cake.

The cake layers are filled with moist, sweet dates that are soaked with a dark, rich toffee sauce in this sticky toffee pudding layer cake.

Traditionally served as squares, this is layered with toffee buttercream and topped with even more toffee.

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Before you start, here are a few tips to making this cake.

Make the toffee sauce first.

The sauce needs to be added to the buttercream and drizzled over the cake, so it's best if you can make it the day before you need it.

Everything goes into the pan and is heated over a medium heat. Heat it until everything is melted and has come to a boil, stirring occasionally. Allow the sauce to boil for a further 5 minutes. Once it's stopped bubbling then place in a heat proof bowl to cool down.

If you are not confident enough or simply don't have time, then use a ready made caramel. There are a number available such as Carnation (tinned) or Bonne Maman (jar), they can be found in any supermarket, usually in the jam aisle. They just won't be as dark as the one used in the recipe.

I recommend you make the toffee caramel yourself - it just adds that extra yum you don't get from ready made caramel.

The Dates.

Soak and blitz the dates before you begin making the cake batter.

The dates are generally sold whole with the stones removed already. If you are going to puree them to add to the cake, then you can soak them in just boiled water, with a tsp of bicarb, and leave them whole (they will be blitzed in a food processor).

If you prefer to have pieces evident in the sponge then you can chop the dates before adding the water. I use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut them up, but you can buy chopped dates if you don't want to bother. I cut them myself so that I choose how big the pieces are.

Making the cake.

Use a hand held electric whisk or a free standing mixer. You want to get as much air into the batter as possible and it's much easier to achieve this with a mixer - less arduous on the arms!

I use the all-in-one method for this cake, and most of my other cakes too, just adding the dates at the very end.

Use deep baking tins - I use 4" deep ones from the supermarket.

Assembling the cake.

This cake is made up of 5 layers -

Cake:Buttercream:Cake:Buttercream:Cake

Use a cake board or a nice serving plate to place the cake on.

Place the first cake layer onto the board. Cover with a generous amount of toffee buttercream.

Place the second cake layer on top and repeat the filling.

Place the final cake layer on the top (turning it upside down to give a level top).

Cover the whole cake in a generous layer of toffee buttercream. Smooth it out if you can, leave it if you can't (either looks great).

Put the cake in the fridge for an hour to set the buttercream. Add the caramel drip sauce to the cake using a piping bag to direct the drips where you want them. Cover with the remaining sauce.

Leave it like that or add swirls of the buttercream, if there's any left.

Keeps for 1 week stored in an airtight container. If you don't have one that is big enough simply wrap in a double layer of clingfilm.

Have you tried this recipe yet? Mention @cakes_forallseasons or #cakesforallseasons! I’d love to see what you are getting up to in the kitchen!