Christmas Coffee & Walnut Cake

Christmas Coffee & Walnut Cake

The classic combo is made extra sumptuous with mascarpone frosting - a traditional sponge for cake sales and parties
PREP: 45 MINS
COOK: 30 MINS
plus cooling
EASY Cooking 
Serving
CUTS INTO 10 SLICES
Coffee & walnut cake
Coffee & walnut cake
12345(19 ratings)
By Sarah Cook Magazine subscription – 5 issues for £5
PREP: 45 MINS
COOK: 30 MINS
plus cooling
EASY CUTS INTO 10 SLICES

Ingredients

250g pack softened butter, plus extra for the tins
100ml strong black coffee (made with 2 tbsp coffee granules), cooled
280g self-raising flour
250g golden caster sugar
½ tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
85g walnut, 2 tbsp roughly chopped, the rest finely chopped
For the filling
100g icing sugar, sifted, plus a little extra for dusting
150ml double cream
100 g mascarpone, at room temperature

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter 2 x 20cm round cake tins and line with baking parchment. Set aside 1 tbsp of the coffee for the filling.
Beat the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and half the remaining coffee in a large bowl with an electric whisk until lump-free. Fold in the finely chopped walnuts, then divide between the tins and roughly spread. Scatter the roughly chopped walnuts over one of the cakes. Bake the cakes for 25-30 mins until golden and risen, and a skewer poked in comes out clean. Drizzle the plain cake with the remaining coffee. Cool the cakes in the tins.
Meanwhile, make the filling: beat together the icing sugar, cream and mascarpone, then fold in the reserved 2 tbsp coffee. Spread over the plain cake, then cover with the walnut-topped cake and dust with a little icing sugar.