Nana Peg’s coffee & walnut cake
My Nana Peg is legendary in our family. She’s 93, swears like a sailor and still gets on the bus every day to get a paper and her shopping. She also makes pastries and cakes like no other. The woman is just invincible, what can I tell you.
This cake always gets devoured at family gatherings and I’m sure you’re going to love it too. Even the people in my family who don’t like coffee love this cake. It’s rich, moist (sorry) and ever so moreish.
Ingredients
For the cake:
2 tbsp instant coffee
2 tbsp boiling water
220g unsalted butter, softened
220g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
220g self raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp milk
Pinch salt
90g walnuts, finely chopped
Handful whole walnuts to decorate
For the buttercream:
260g unsalted butter, softened
500g icing sugar
2 tbsp Costa Coffee
2 tbsp boiling water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Method
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4 and grease two 8in cake tins with a generous amount of butter
2. Make a coffee paste using 2 tbsp instant coffee and 2 tbsp boiling water. Leave to cool
3. Using an electric hand whisk (or stand mixer), cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl for 5-10 minutes until pale and fluffy. Dont’ skip this step as it’s what makes the cake really light and fluffy.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add them in four stages to the cake mixture, mixing thoroughly between each addition
5. Sieve in the flour, baking powder and salt
6. Add the vanilla extract, cooled coffee, walnuts and milk. Stir until combined
7. Spread the mixture evenly between both cake tins and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Once baked, leave to cool completely
8. While the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream. Make another paste with the coffee by adding 2tbsp coffee granules and 4tbsp boiling water. Add the butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract and salt to a large bowl and beat using your electric whisk. Then add the coffee and beat for an additional 2 minutes
10. Once the cakes are completely cool, stack them spreading half the buttercream on top of each layer. Smooth with a palette knife for an even finish and decorate with whole walnuts. Enjoy!
