Coffee & Walnut Cake

I continue to use my elderly recuperating mother as an excuse to make cake, to help her gain some weight. One cake for her, and one for us.

I based this on Mary Berry's Coffee & Walnut Cake recipe on BBC Good Food website. I found it made quite a small cake (which was fine for my mother's lockdown 90th birthday), so doubled the quantities to make two cakes the next time.  I also, as ever, tweaked the ingredients to my own taste and supplies; I only ever have salted butter, I used a shot of espresso rather than essence, and I used half the amount of icing sugar!

Makes two loaf cakes

Cake
200g softened butter
200g granulated sugar
4 large free-range eggs
200g self-raising flour
2 level tsp baking powder
100g chopped walnuts
2 tbsp freshly made espresso

Topping
125g butter, softened
200g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp freshly made espresso

Make an espresso coffee and leave to stand.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix the softened butter and sugar in a food processor until pale and creamy.  Add the rest of the cake ingredients and mix again for about 30 seconds until well incorporated and smooth (apart from small lumps of walnut).

Weigh out equally into two lined loaf tins. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown and a clean skewer comes out clean.  Take out of the oven and leave too cool.

Whilst the cakes cool, mix the icing ingredients to a smooth spreadable paste.  When the cakes are cool enough for the butter in the icing not to melt into the cake.

Twitter: leesashomemade

Instagram: leesashomemade

Facebook: Leesa's Homemade