coffee and walnut cake
If you are afraid of butter look away now. If on the other hand you don’t think the occasional dairy treat is going to kill you, read on. I made this cake on a bit of a guilt trip on Valentine’s day. I confess I completely forgot about it and failed to buy my poor husband a card, never mind a present. Yes, I know, it’s all commercial exploitation, bla bla bla. But tell that to aforementioned husband who not only bought me a nice card but also sent me a lovely bunch of flowers. So, in an attempt to ask for his forgiveness I decided to make him his favourite cake of all times. The one he always buys when we go to cafes , in other words. Also the one I had never made for him. Partly because of the high amount of butter needed to make this cake ( and sorry, I have done my research on line and all recipes seem to contain vast quantities ) and partly because you have to make two layers and sandwich them together which in my book spells faff. But I had to make the effort on this particular occasion so I pulled out all the stops. Well, he certainly enjoyed it and was very thankful. So if you want to treat someone do consider this cake. The recipe comes from the BBC Good food website, slightly adapted.
INGREDIENTS
- 250g pack butter, softened
- 250g light soft brown sugar plus 2-3 tbsp
- 300g self-raising flour
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 80g walnuts, toasted and finely chopped (a food processor is easiest), plus a few more to decorate the cake.
- 200ml very strong coffee (made fresh or with instant), cooled
For the frosting
- 250g tub mascarpone
- 150 gr. whipped double cream
- 2 -3 tbsp light soft brown sugar or icing sugar.
- cocoa powder to decorate
Method
- Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper. Beat butter and sugar together with electric beaters until pale and creamy. Add the fl our and eggs in one go and keep beating until evenly mixed. Fold in the walnuts (if using) and half of the coffee. Spoon the mix into the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 mins or until golden and well risen.
- Leave the cakes in their tins for 5 mins before turning onto a wire rack. Sweeten the remaining coffee with the extra sugar and sprinkle 4 tbsp over the sponges. Leave to cool completely.
- While the cakes cool, make the frosting. Tip the mascarpone into a large bowl and beat in the sugar , whipped cream and remaining coffee until smooth and well combined. Use about half of the frosting to sandwich the sponges together then, using a palette or cutlery knife, spread the rest of the frosting over the top of the cake. Decorate with a dusting of cocoa powder or drinking chocolate. If you’re making this cake to eat at home, it will keep covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Oh oh, non solo il burro, ma la panna, il mascarpone… Adesso dovrai postare almeno 10 ricette light da River Cottage… Ma poi hai fatto in tempo a farla per la gran serata?
Infatti! È quasi un’arma di distruzione di massa ! Beh comunque siamo ancora vivi. Abbiamo mangiato sane zuppe e insalate per il testo di quella settimana…:-)