So I have been doing plenty of spring cleaning around here.
Yes, I’m about six months late, don’t judge me.
I had over 100 cooking magazines and decided to go through them all, clip the recipes I wanted to save and toss the rest. A good, green girl would have recycled the magazines, again I say don’t judge me.
It was interesting to see which magazines I saved the most recipes from and there were even two magazines in which no recipes enticed me at all.
The top magazines I saved from were Cooking Light, Everyday with Racheal Ray, Food Network Magazine and Cooks Illustrated. I saved about 75 recipes total, and around 30 came from Cooking Light. The magazines I saved the least from were Saveur, Gourmet and Bon Appetit. I did clip a few beautiful pictures for inspiration, but I found most of the recipes to be a bit odd.
I saw this recipe in an issue of Cooking Light. It looked fantastic and the picture in the magazine was so eye catching. I brought this cake to a cookout on Labor Day and it didn’t last long
Espresso Walnut Cake with Creamy Praline Frosting
Ingredients
Walnut Cake
- 2 cups AP Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 7 TBS Butter room temperature
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Espresso Powder
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 large Egg White
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup low-fat Buttermilk
- 6 TBS Walnuts toasted and chopped
Creamy Praline Frosting
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 6 TBS Low Fat Milk
- 2 TBS Butter
- 1 TBS Corn Syrup
- Pinch of Salt
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 oz Cream Cheese
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 TBS Walnuts toasted and chopped (I used 1 cup)
Instructions
Walnut Cake
- prepare a 13X9 inch baking pan
- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring well with a whisk.
- Place 7 tablespoons butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a mixing bowl; beat at medium-high speed with a mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in egg white. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Fold in 6 tablespoons walnuts.
- Scrape batter into a 13 x 9–inch prepared pan.
- Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
Creamy Praline Frosting
- To prepare frosting, place 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tablespoons butter, corn syrup, and dash of salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook 2 minutes.
- Scrape brown sugar mixture into a bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons milk and powdered sugar; beat with a mixer at high speed 2 minutes or until slightly cooled and thick. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
- Spread frosting in an even layer over cooled cake; sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Let the cake stand until the frosting sets; cut into squares.
Video
Notes
Basic ways to make Espresso Walnut Cake
The first step in making an Espresso Walnut Cake is to prepare the batter. Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Add eggs and beat well after each addition. Next, add walnuts and stir well. Pour batter into prepared cake tin. Bake cake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let it cool before icing it with coffee cream cheese.
When making an espresso walnut cake, make sure all ingredients are room temperature. This will create a smooth batter. Also, make sure all ingredients are out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. When mixing the coffee and walnut cake batter, add the eggs and beat well. The batter will look sloppy at this point, but it will turn into a fluffy cake in no time. Once the cake has cooled, it can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.
Preparation
The first step in preparing an Espresso Walnut Cake is to prepare the cake batter. Grease two 20cm cake tins. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well between additions. Then, add the flour, espresso powder, and vanilla extract, and stir to combine. Finally, add the walnuts and fold them into the batter. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and bake it for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Once the cake is baked, prepare the frosting. You can leave the walnuts raw or lightly caramelise them by heating a small bowl of water. If it hardens too quickly, remove it from the heat. Once the cake is cooled, drizzle it over the top with chocolate ganache and sprinkle walnuts evenly. Sprinkle with cocoa powder, if desired. Allow to cool completely before using. You can also drizzle the cake with the caramel before serving it.
Ingredients
When it comes to coffee and cake, there’s nothing quite like the combination. A light, golden sponge is flecked with plenty of walnuts and covered in a rich, creamy coffee frosting. A little extra espresso can intensify the mild coffee flavour and give it a deeper, more pronounced flavour. The coffee and walnut cake was the winner of a recent baking challenge. Begin by beating the butter and sugar in an electric mixer. Then, add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. The mixture will look sloppy at this point, but it will soon take shape.
Next, toast the walnuts. Toasting the nuts will give the cake a richer flavour and a more velvety texture. Make sure to toast them until fragrant and dark brown, but be careful, as they will burn easily. While toasting, grease and line the baking tins with parchment paper. Dust them with flour, if needed, and tap off the excess. When the caramel has hardened, drizzle the top with walnut halves.
Baking
Bake a classic coffee and walnut cake to impress your guests. This cake is moist and light, with a creamy chocolate ganache and a luscious layer of espresso buttercream. Although the cake is more time-consuming to prepare than the more common chocolate and vanilla-based desserts, it’s well worth it. It will also make an impressive centerpiece, and is delicious as an after-dinner treat.
The espresso flavour is key to the taste of this loaf cake. You can find espresso powder in grocery stores, and use it instead of regular ground coffee. Regular ground coffee won’t dissolve in the cake batter like espresso powder does, so you’ll need to use the latter. In any case, espresso powder will give the cake a richer flavor. If you’re unsure, try purchasing a coffee essence. It’s an excellent substitute for coffee.
Glaze
To make the glaze, you can either use espresso powder, dissolved in 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Or, you can prepare a simple buttercream frosting, made from icing sugar and butter. Cream together until pale and fluffy. Spread this mixture on top of each cake. Sprinkle walnut pieces on top and serve! The perfect coffee cake! Here are some tips to create a delicious espresso walnut cake. Make sure to read the recipe carefully!
Coffee icing
The coffee icing for espresso walnut cake can be made with coffee essence and Camp chicory. Both have a bittersweet taste that complements the walnuts. These two ingredients are widely available in the U.K. and are perfect for adding flavor to batters and frostings. Camp chicory and coffee essence was developed as a fast coffee for the British military. They are now often used to make coffee buttercream.
The first step in making coffee icing for espresso walnut cake is to make the cake batter. The mix should be light and creamy. Add the nuts and espresso powder and fold in the dry ingredients until combined. Bake the cake in an oven for about half an hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. Once the cake is completely cool, make the buttercream. Beat the butter with an electric hand or stand mixer until fluffy and pale. Then, add the reserved 2 tabl
