My recipe for a classic Coffee & Walnut Cake. Three layers of delicious coffee sponge packed full of chopped walnuts and topped with smooth coffee buttercream.
This Friday is the Macmillan World’s Biggest Coffee Morning and I thought I’d share with you what I’m going to be making to take along to the one at my boys’ school. It’s my version of a classic coffee & walnut cake.
As you may have realised, I’m a bit of a fan of cake. However, there’s one cake I love above all others and that is coffee & walnut. If I spot it in a café then I really struggle to resist buying a slice to have with a pot of tea (as a side note shouldn’t all tea in cafés come in a pot? It’s just not the same having just one cup). For me a good coffee and walnut cake should have a really good coffee flavour and lots of walnuts running all the way through and that’s what I’ve made here.
I’ve bowed to Pinterest peer pressure and made my cake with three layers (you can never find simple 2-layer cakes on there). I think this particular cake works well with three layers as it means you can have extra buttercream, but if you’ve only got two tins I’ve added some extra notes below the recipe to adapt it. I also got a bit carried away with my piping bag to make it look pretty. If you’re not a fan of piping then just slather it on with a knife, it’ll still taste amazing 🙂
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Coffee & Walnut Cake
INGREDIENTS
For the coffee & walnut sponge
- 10 g 2 tbsp coffee powder - (or instant coffee granules ground in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar)
- 150 g self-raising flour
- 165 g soft light brown sugar
- 165 g soft margarine - or butter
- 3 medium eggs
- 1½ tsp milk
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 75 g chopped walnuts
For the coffee buttercream
- 250 g softened butter
- 500 g icing sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp instant coffee granules
- 1½ tbsp boiling water
To decorate
- 25 g chopped walnuts
- A handful of walnut halves
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the coffee & walnut sponge
- Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.
- Line 3x18cm round sandwich tins (I use these liners).
- Sift the self-raising flour (150g), coffee powder (10g) into a large bowl and salt (⅛ tsp). Add the remaining ingredients (3 medium eggs, 165g soft margarine, 165g soft light brown sugar and 1½ tsp milk) and mix until fully combined (either by hand or using an electric mixer on a low speed). Fold in the chopped walnuts (75g).
- Divide the mixture equally between the three tins.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for about 10 minutes, then remove them from their tins and move them to a wire rack to cool fully before decorating.
Make the coffee buttercream
- Mix the instant coffee granules (3 tbsp) with the boiling water (1½ tbsp) and then set aside to cool.
- Cut the butter (250g) into cubes and then beat on a low-medium speed until soft. Gradually add the icing sugar (you add it gradually to stop it flying everywhere) and beat until fully combined.
- Add the vanilla extract (¼tsp) and add the coffee a teaspoon at a time, beating in each addition before adding more.
- Check the consistency of your buttercream. It should be soft and perfect for piping at this point. If it’s still a little stiff then beat in a little milk.
Decorate
- Place the bottom layer of your cake onto your chosen dish. Cover with ⅓ of your buttercream. Sprinkle over half of the chopped walnuts.
- Place another layer on top and repeat the last step.
- Place the final layer on top. Decorate with the remaining buttercream and then finish with the walnut halves.
NOTES
- I've decorated my cakes by piping buttercream roses and then filling any gaps around the edge with a little extra squirt of buttercream. I used a JEM 1B nozzle.
- If you'd prefer to make this as a 2-layer cake then the only change you'll need is to increase the cooking time to 30-35 minutes. You'll also need ⅔ of the buttercream (or you could use the extra buttercream to make a thin coating around the outside of the cake.
- If you'd like to bake the cake in one deep tin and then slice it up into layers, you'll need to increase the cooking time to 45-50 minutes.
- The undecorated cakes are suitable for freezing. Simply wrap them tightly in clingfilm and pop them into the freezer. Defrost them thoroughly before decorating.
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.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Soy-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Rike says
I made this cake with my 7 year old daughter and we had lots of fun. At first I thought the amount of batter was not enough for the three layers but it worked out fine. I added some dulce de leche and Mascarpone to the buttercream, turned out very smooth. Cannot wait to tuck in!
Sarah says
The batter doesn’t go very far, 150g is way too low. Also, the sponge does not turn out very nice. I would say this recipe is a little deceiving, especially in relation to the photos
Charlotte Oates says
The cake in the photographs in this recipe was made using the exact recipe and instructions on the post, just like every other recipe on this website. It sounds like you may have used a baking pan which was the wrong size, or misread some of the instructions. As you will see, there are many other people who have made this cake per the given instructions and commented how successful it is and how much they loved it. These people didn’t have access to any more information that you did.
Tania says
Hi, I absolutely adore your recipes so thank you! I was wondering… could this cake be made dairy free? I have been asked to make it for an end of chemo celebration but it has to be dairy free. Could I just swap the butter for dairy free spread?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes you shouldn’t have any difficulties although make sure to look for a dairy free version of hard block butter for the buttercream.
Tania says
I love this recipe and have been asked to make it for an end of chemo celebration party but it needs to be dairy free… can I just substitute the butter and milk for dairy free options such as flora for example? Many thanks for all your brilliant recipes
Charlotte Oates says
Yes that should be fine, make sure to used a block style dairy free butter option for the buttercream or it won’t hold up. A tub margarine is fine for the actual sponge.
Jade says
Made this recipe last weekend but as two layers instead of three & was amazed how lovely it tasted the only thing I did different was I blended the walnuts so it was grounded really fine so the cake didn’t have bits in it. We loved it that much I am going to make it again very soon 🙂
Jo says
Made this cake this morning ,did not rise that well , and definitely could not say that it’s sponge in fact very firm layers ,have not frosted it yet ,any suggestions on where I went wrong.
Charlotte Oates says
Unfortunately without knowing exactly what ingredients and equipment you it is impossible for me to diagnose what went wrong. One of the first things I always so suggest is to double check that your self raising flour (and therefore the raising agent it contains) is fresh. And also to make sure that you are using the correct size cake tin for the recipe. I hope that you have better luck next time.
Angela says
Nice coffee taste and lots walnuts, but not for me.
Vickie Wood says
Faantastic recipe but I can’t find the link to calculate to make it in larger tins I need a 10″ – 25cm cake. Love all the recipes I have tried you are very generous to share your recipes with us.
Charlotte Oates says
Unfortunately I do not have a calculator available for this recipe. To convert the recipe from a 3 layer 7″/18cm cake to a 10″/25cm cake you would need to double the recipe. Don’t forget that you may also need to adjust the cooking time to take into account the larger tins.
Karolina says
Hello Charlotte,
wondering if I can sub the instant coffee with strong espresso?
Thank you,
Karolina
Charlotte Oates says
You can sub the coffee powder and milk with espresso in the sponge and the hot water and coffee powder in the frosting. It would need to be very strong espresso to have enough impact on the flavour of the cake.
shelly says
Absolutely AMAZING!!!! So light, delicate and flavorful!!! Wouldn’t change a thing!! Yummy.
Eva says
Hello! I’m considering making this for my birthday, but in the form of cupcakes. Do you think that will work aswell? Also, I’d love to incorporate a bit of chocolate flavour into the batter, can I just add some cocoa powder and/or chocolate chips or is that going to cause issues? Thanks so much!
Charlotte Oates says
I would recommend starting with my Coffee Cupcakes and adding walnuts and chocolate chips. Replace a little of the flour with cocoa powder and the recipe should work out great.
Sassy says
This is really delicious but you don’t get much actual cake from the batter. 165g of flour isn’t a whole lot! Next time I will double the cake mix.
Charlotte Oates says
Yes the recipe does make 3 relatively thin layers but absolutely do increase the quantities for a taller cake. Just make sure that you adjust the cooking times accordingly.
Ann Elvin says
Disaster. 150 grams flour isn’t enough. They were like thin frisby’s. Should have gone with my gut. Also 140 deg on a fan oven. Back to my old recipes.
Mark says
Made this today but 4 layer with 2 batches of ingredients, also made it into a drip cake with coffee chocolate ganache! Hopefully the birthday girl will love it
Jennifer says
If I wanted to do this as a two layer cake can you advise how if this would work and what I would need to change please?
Charlotte Oates says
Split the mixture between 2 tins and increase the baking time to c. 30 minutes.
Natalie says
Hi Charlotte, do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Charlotte Oates says
Unsalted butter.
motb says
Thank you for sharing measurements in cups and teaspoons. It’s very thoughtful and considerate.
Marianne says
My favourite cake butter cream torte. You receipt looks good. Will try with a slight twist in the butter cream. Vanilla pudding at room temperature then mix butter combo together. Icing sure to sweet. But easier.
dallas says
can I use Soft Spread as a substitute for butter in the icing?
Charlotte Oates says
It’s not something I recommend as you’ll find it has a very soft consistency and it also changes the flavour (I far prefer the flavour with butter but that is personal preference).