Soft sponge packed full of coffee flavour and chopped walnuts, topped with smooth coffee buttercream and walnut pieces.
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One style of cake that has been a bit lacking from my site is loaf cakes and I decided it was about time I fixed the situation with one of my favourite flavours of cake – coffee and walnut.
This coffee and walnut loaf cake has all the hallmarks of my popular coffee and walnut cake, but in rectangular form. Both the sponge and the buttercream are packed full of coffee flavour and the cake has chopped walnut pieces running through it (in my opinion there’s nothing worse than a cake that claims to be coffee and walnut, but the only walnut is a single half added as decoration. Seriously, if you’re going to call it coffee and walnut then it should have plenty of both).
One extra feature this coffee and walnut loaf cake has over my classic coffee and walnut cake is the addition of a coffee drizzle underneath the buttercream. This is added while the cake is hot in its tin to make sure you have a lovely moist loaf that’s packed full of flavour.
Coffee and Walnut Loaf Cake FAQs
If it’s your first time making this recipe or you have a question, please take a moment to have a read through my FAQs for some extra tips and allergen information.
- How long does this cake last for and how should it be stored?
- Am I OK to make this without walnuts?
- Can I used other nuts?
- Can I use a shot of espresso or filter coffee?
- Can I use coffee essence?
- Can I use decaf coffee?
- How do I grind my coffee granules?
- Can I make this as a layer cake?
- Can I make this into cupcakes?
How long does this cake last for and how should it be stored?
This cake will be fine to eat for up to seven days after baking if it’s stored in an airtight container.
❄️ Suitable for freezing
This cake is suitable for freezing. Simply pop it into a freezer-safe, airtight container and freezer. If you want to save space in your freezer/using your container for something else, once the cake is frozen solid, it can be removed from the container and wrapped in clingfilm. If you use this option, make sure you remove the clingfilm before defrosting the cake to ensure that it doesn’t stick to the buttercream.
Am I OK to make this without the walnuts?
Absolutely, if you’d prefer just a simple coffee loaf cake, then make the recipe as per the instructions minus the chopped walnuts in the cake mix and those added as decoration.
Can I use other nuts instead of walnuts?
Absolutely. I’ve opted for walnuts as coffee and walnut is such a classic combination, but you can switch them up for any other types of nuts if you prefer. This cake would also taste particularly good with pecan nuts.
Can I use a shot of espresso or filter coffee instead of instant coffee?
This isn’t something I recommend.
I’ve chosen to use instant coffee in this recipe as it has a far more intense flavour than espresso (the amount of espresso you would need to get the same flavour would mean adding too much liquid to the cake and buttercream which would mess up the texture of both).
Whilst I wouldn’t recommend using espresso in the cake mixture you can use it to make the coffee drizzle.
You also cannot use ground coffee beans in place of the instant coffee.
Can I use coffee essence instead of instant coffee?
This isn’t something I have tested, but I have received feedback from others who have used Camp Coffee Essence in both my coffee cake and coffee buttercream (and also to make coffee flavoured versions of my fondant filled chocolates) and they have reported that it has worked well.
Can I make this using decaffeinated coffee?
Yes.
This cake works equally as well with both regular and decaf coffee.
How do I grind my instant coffee granules to a powder?
For the main cake I recommend using either instant coffee powder or instant coffee granules which have been ground into a powder. I usually opt for granules (as these are what I usually have in the cupboard) and I give them a quick burst in my electric spice grinder. If you don’t have one then you could also use a pestle and mortar or simply crush then with the back of a spoon in a bowl (this doesn’t work for crushing many things, but as coffee granules are quite soft it works perfectly well).
Can I make this recipe as a layer cake?
This recipe is specifically designed to be made as a loaf cake. If you’d like to make a layer cake version, the take a look at my classic coffee and walnut cake recipe.
If you want a different size of layer cake (or a traybake) then you can use my coffee cake recipe, which has a calculator to adjust the ingredients for different tin sizes. Then turn it into a coffee and walnut cake by adding 50g of chopped walnuts per 100g of flour.
Can I make this recipe into cupcakes?
Again, this recipe has been designed as a loaf cake. If you’d like to make coffee and walnut cupcakes, then I’d recommend making a batch of my coffee cupcakes, folding 75g of chopped walnuts into the cake mixture before baking and adding a chopped walnut for decoration.
Coffee and Walnut Loaf Cake
Print Rate SaveINGREDIENTS
Coffee and walnut loaf cake
- 220 g soft margarine or butter - if you're using butter make sure it's soft and at room temperature
- 220 g soft light brown sugar - you can also use dark brown or muscovado sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 200 g self-raising flour
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp instant coffee powder - or instant coffee granules which you have ground to a powder (see FAQs above the recipe for tips on this)
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 100 g chopped walnuts
Coffee drizzle/syrup
- 60 g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp coffee - either espesso, fiter coffee or instant coffee made up as you would usually drink it
Coffee buttercream
- 100 g butter - soft and at room temperature
- 200 g icing sugar
- ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp boiling water
- 4 tsp instant coffee powder/granules
- A little milk
To decorate
- 50 g walnut halves - don't worry if some of yours are a bit broken as you'll roughly chop them
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the coffee and walnut loaf cake
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan.
- Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment – you can also use a cake release spray or homemade cake release if you prefer.
- Beat together your butter/margaine and soft light brown sugar until light and fluffy – if you're using an electric mixer, keep it on a low speed.
- Add the eggs one at a time. Make sure each egg is throughly beaten into the other ingredients before adding the next one.If you find that your mixture is starting to look a little split, add a tablespoon of your flour and this should help it to come back together.
- Add the self-raising flour, coffee powder, baking powder and salt and fold them into the other ingredients until combined.
- Add the chopped walnuts and fold them into the cake mixture until evenly distributed throughout.
- Add the cake mixture to the prepared loaf tin.
- Bake your cake for 1 hour (until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean). NOTE – I use a 2lb loaf tin to make this cake, however depending on which brand you use the width and height can vary which may slightly alter your cooking time. I'd recommend checking your cake a little before the suggested time of one hour and the keep checking every few minutes until the skewer is clean).
While the cake is baking, make the coffee drizzle/syrup
- Mix together the coffee and caster sugar
- Once your cake is baked, as soon as you have removed it from the oven (while it's hot in the tin) use a skewer to poke lots of holes all over the surface of the cake going right through to the bottom.
- Pour/brush over the coffee and sugar mixture making sure it is evenly distributed over the top of the cake.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before removing it and leaving it to cool completely on a wire rack.
While the cake is cooling, make the coffee buttercream
- Mix together your boiling water and instant coffee and leave to cool
- Beat together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract until soft and fully combined
- Gradually add the coffee mixture until fully combined – I recommend adding a little, beating it in thoroughly and then adding more. If you add it all in one go your buttercream may split.
- Check ths consitency of your buttercream. If it is a soft pipeable consistency then you're good to move onto decorating your cake. If it is a little too stiff, then add some milk (no more than one teaspoon at a time), beating in each addition until you are happy with the consistency you have.
Decorate
- Pipe/spread the buttercream over the top of your cake
- Roughly chop your walnut halves and arrange them over the top of the cake
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
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