It's nearing the end of a pretty relaxing weekend and I'm ever so slightly dreading the fact that's its Monday tomorrow. However if I have to think positively then I did get a whole lot ticked off my to-do list and I've got some left over biryani already boxed up for lunch tomorrow, so win-win really.
On Saturday my cousin came over to my parents house with her four month old baby and I only made her cry once, I also helped unpack a few more things that my mum got while she was visiting the homeland, amongst which were bags full of an array of spices and nuts. We're now all stocked up on cashews, walnuts, pistachios and peanuts and I couldn't be more pleased about it (I'm a bit of a snacker) and this also means that I have more ingredients to play around with.
That's where this Sunday's bake comes in; I've always wanted to make a coffee and walnut cake but just never got round to it, so when I saw I had a bag full of walnuts I knew what I had to do (not being the least bit dramatic).
I did of a bit of research, looked up coffee cakes in all my cookbooks and came up with a rough recipe - I wasn't expecting much but let me tell you this cake came out amazing, so much so that there isn't anything I want to tweak.
It's very light considering its packed full of walnuts and flavoursome without anything being too overpowering, the frosting also compliments it perfectly.
So to make this coffee and walnut cake you will need a few ingredients:
1. Margarine/butter
2. Caster sugar
3. Eggs
4. Self-raising flour
5. Baking powder
6. Instant coffee
7. Walnuts
8. Cinnamon
To begin, cream together 175g of margarine and 175g of caster sugar - I opted for this fat/sugar combination as it kept the cake batter really light.
Then beat in three large eggs, one at a time ensuring the mixture is smooth and the ingredients are well incorporated.
Now for the coffee flavouring, stir together teaspoons of instant coffee granules with 2 tablespoons of boiling water until its all dissolved - stir this into the cake batter.
Finally we require 195g of sifted self-raising flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir the dry ingredients into the batter ensuring no lumps, followed by 2 tablespoons of milk.
As for the star attraction I used around 100g of chopped walnuts, stir the majority of them into the cake batter.
Once the batter has been spooned into a lined cake tin sprinkle the remaining chopped walnuts on top.
Bake in a Gas Mark 4 oven for around 40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes to allow it to cool slightly before handling.
Meanwhile we can make the coffee frosting! All that is required is 2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 tablespoon of boiling water, to this we add 2 tablespoons of butter and 100g of icing sugar. Using an electric mixture beat all ingredients together alternating with small amounts of boiling water until a smooth glossy frosting is formed (excuse the blurry picture!)
Evenly spread the frosting onto the cake, top with a few walnut halves and a sprinkle of cocoa powder. Now all that's left to do is to slice up and serve!
😋
Enjoy!
Q x
