Iced Coffee and Walnut Cake

 

I love cake.  Duh . . . no surprise there right?  Well, I don't bake a lot of cakes because usually there is far too much of it for just my husband  and myself. . . . 

I end up having to give half of it away . . . which technically is not a bad thing . . . but with the cost of food today, it doesn't happen to often nowadays.

 

I picked up the latest issue of Good to Know Recipes the other day and I was immediately drawn to the recipe for this Iced Coffee and Walnut Cake.  

Although it was a recipe for beginners . . . it seemed to be a cake that was neither too big, nor too small . . . but just the right size for us.

 

I do so love a Coffee and Walnut Cake, and this is a fabulous recipe.  Very easy, quick and most delicious!  

So delicious in fact that on the strength of this recipe alone . . . I treated myself to the cookery book it comes from.  "Mastering the Art of Baking" by Anneka Manning and published by Murdoch books.



 "Take a masterclass in your own kitchen with Mastering the Art of Baking. This comprehensive new volume includes classics such as brioche and pork and fennel sausage rolls, through to contemporary dishes such as strawberry macaron mousse cake and caramelized tomato tart. 

Guiding you through the sweet and the savoury alike are comprehensive step-by-step photographs and expert tips on getting the best results. No matter what your previous baking experience is, Mastering the Art of Baking will fast become your baking bible." (taken from the net.)



I have to confess . . . they did not lie.  This is a fabulous book and I am very impressed.  

I highly recommend it and I have not been paid or gifted to say so. Now . . . back to the cake.

 

Simple, moist, not too big, not too small and D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!!  Stogged to the hilt with tasty walnuts and crowned with a fabulous buttercream icing.  It's quite simply fabulous.  

With a mild coffee flavour that is not over powering.  We loved it.  (Another thing I love are these wonderful loaf shaped parchment liners that you can get for in your baking tins from Lakeland!)



End of . . . 

 

*Iced Coffee and Walnut Cake*
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Printable Recipe

This cake is a doddle to mix up and bake.  Simple, easy and soooo scrummy!!

125ml of whole milk (1/2 cup plus 1/2 TBS)
75g of butter chopped (1/3 cup)
1 tsp instant coffee granules
110g caster sugar (1/2 cup plus 1 TBS)
60g of chopped toasted walnuts (1/2 cup), plus extra whole walnut halves to decorate
1 medium egg, at room temperature and beaten
150g of self raising flour, sifted (1 1/3 cup plus 1/2 TBS)

Coffee Buttercream Icing:
7 TBs butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
160g of icing sugar, sifted (1 1/4 cup)
1 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water
spash of milk, if needed

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.  Butter an 8 by 3 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper, allowing it to drape over the sides, for ease of removal.

Put the milk, butter and coffee granules in a large saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat until the butter is melted and the coffee granules dissolved.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and chopped walnuts with a wooden spoon.  Stir in the egg until thoroughly combined.  Stir in the flour gradually, until just combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface over with the back of a metal spoon. 

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until well risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the buttercream, using an electric whisk, beat the butter and vanilla together in a small bowl, until pale and creamy.  Gradually beat in the icing sugar, a bit at a time, until well combined.  Dissolve the coffee granules in 1 tsp boiling water and then cool.  Beat into the butter cream.  If the buttercream is too thick, you may beat in a little milk, only adding 1 tsp at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

 

Shhh . . . don't tell anyone it's coffee. Well . . . I suppose technically the Word Of Wisdom says nothing about eating anything that is coffee flavoured  . . . only drinking it, so I'm probably ok.   How many of us have been indulging in some Revels and ended up with the coffee flavoured one.  Ugh . . . this cake is much, much better.

Don't you like that little Melamine tray?  I got it from Berry Red.  It's part of their Greengate Range which I absolutely love, love, LOVE!!   (And no . . . I didn't get paid or receive anything free to say that either!) 

  

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