Coffee and Walnut Cake - The Recipe

 

A classic coffee and walnut cake recipe with a buttery yet light sponge and a rich coffee flavoured icing...

I am not usually one to indulge in a coffee cake, I would rather have a chocolate fudge cake any day but whilst looking for something to bake yesterday I laid my eyes on this wonderful recipe in the Great British Bake Off cookery book. It just looked so damn tasty! And if I am honest it was one of the few recipes I actually had the ingredients for, lazy I know, anyway I wanted to share this with you as it is easy to follow and really quick to make.

For the sponge you will need -

175g unsalted soft butter

175g caster sugar

3 medium eggs

75g chopped walnuts

175g self raising flour

1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1 tablespoon of instant coffee dissolved into 1 tablespoon of hot water

For the filling and topping you will need -

125g unsalted butter

300g icing sugar

3 tablespoons of instant coffee dissolved into 2 tablespoons of hot water

4 tablespoons of double cream

25g chopped walnuts for decoration

First start by pre-heating the oven to 180 C and line two eight inch cakes tins. Put the softened butter and sugar into a bowl and beat until light and creamy, gradually add in the eggs one at a time beating well after each one is added. Add the nuts, sifted flour and baking powder followed by the disolved coffee, carefully fold all ingrediants together until thoroughly combined. Divide the mixture between the two tins and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25mins until golden and the sponge springs back when lightly pressed. Once out of the oven run a round bladed knife around the egde of the cake to loosen and then turn out onto a wire cooling rack, leave cakes to cool completely.

To make the filling and topping heat the butter in a small non stick metal pan until it starts to bubble, sift the icing sugar into a large heatproof bowl and pour over the butter followed by the disolved coffee and cream, beat well using a large wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth, leave until thick enough to spead. You may need to chill the mixture in the fridge for ten minutes or so. Once almost set spread onto the bottom layer of the cake and then place the second sponge layer on top, put the rest of the mixture onto the top of the cake and spread using a spatula, run a knife around the top to create a swirled pattern and then decorate with the chopped walnuts.

The recipe says the cake should last four days so it is a  great one to prepare one or two days before having guests round, although it didn't even last a day in my house! Let me know if you try this!

Salts and Soaps

Every now and then I get the idea to do something a little more creative with my spare time, and a while ago after thinking just that I decided to get a tad thrifty and make some homemade bathroom essentials, as you may have noticed bath salts and soaps can get a little pricey. So why not make some of your own?

Here is a quick how to for Lavender and Chamomile Relaxing Bath Salts:

In a bowl combine 500grms of Epsom salts, a few handfuls of the dried lavender and chamomile, a tablespoon full of almond oil, several drops of both the lemon and lavender pure essential oils. If you don't like too much floating in your bath use less dried flowers. Once everything is stirred together put into a pretty jar or even a cheap Kilner jar like I did and your done!

These can be used as great gifts so don't forget your little 'handmade' tag. I decorated my jar with some pretty lace and it looks beautiful in my bathroom. The product itself is great for relaxing, the salts help with muscle tension and all the smells combined really help you to calm down after a stressful day.

Here are a few more things I have made recently to get you inspired, let me know if you try this D.I.Y out.