Walnut cake with coffee buttercream

A wonderfully old-fashioned English walnut cake with coffee buttercream. One of my English friends bakes it for every important occasion, including Christmas. I still remember when she brought this cake to school for a festive gathering — everyone would come back for another slice with such nostalgia; it truly is a cake from childhood memories. It is very similar to a classic Victoria sponge cake, but in a different flavour combination. The batter comes together incredibly quickly in a food processor. Another advantage is that the cake keeps beautifully for several days, even without refrigeration :).

Ingredients for the walnut cake:

• 50 g walnuts or pecans
• 180 g caster sugar
• 225 g butter
• 200 g plain flour
• 4 large eggs
• 4 tsp instant coffee powder
• 2½ tsp baking powder
• 1–2 tbsp milk

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the nuts and sugar into a food processor and blend until finely ground and sandy, like nut flour. Add the chopped butter, flour, eggs, coffee powder, baking powder and milk. Blend only until smooth. Do not overmix unnecessarily, as his may result in a heavy cake.

Line the bases of two 20 cm cake tins with baking parchment. Divide the batter evenly between the tins.

Bake at 165°C for about 25–30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Ingredients for the coffee buttercream:

• 175 g butter
• 180 g icing sugar
• 2½ tsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

All ingredients should be at room temperature (the butter should be very soft).

Place the butter and icing sugar into the bowl of a mixer and beat using whisk attachments until pale, light and fluffy. Add the dissolved coffee and continue beating until smooth and creamy.

Additionally:

• walnuts or pecans, for decoration

To assemble:

Divide the buttercream into two portions. Spread one half between the cake layers and the remaining buttercream over the top of the cake. Decorate the walnut cake with coffee buttercream using walnuts or pecans.

Enjoy!