Coffee And Walnut Sponge Food

COFFEE & WALNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter 2 x 20cm springform cake tins and line with baking parchment. Set aside 2 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.

BOOZY COFFEE & WALNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper. Toast the walnut halves in the oven for 10 mins. Reserve 10 and chop the rest. Dissolve the instant coffee in 1 tbsp of boiling water, cool and add the basic cake mix (see recipe for Classic Victoria sponge, right), instead of the milk.
• For the filling, beat the mascarpone with the light muscovado sugar and Tia Maria until smooth. Sandwich the cooled cakes with a third of the filling and the chopped walnuts.
• Cover the top and sides of the cake with the rest of the filling and decorate the top with the toasted walnut halves.

NO FAIL COFFEE AND WALNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Place the butter into a large mixing bowl and beat until light and smooth. Add the sugar and cream togetehr until light and fluffy.
• One at a time add each egg making sure to beat well to completely incorporate each egg before adding the next egg. If the mixture looks like it's about to curdle add 1 spoonful of the flour. Then add the dissolved coffeee to the mixture and mix well.
• Add the flour and chopped walnuts and gently fold in until fully combined.
• Divide the mixure into two 20cm/8 cake tins which should be greased / lined with parchement paper. Transfer to the oven to bake 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean and the cake is golden-brown. Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• Whilst the cakes are cooling make the butter icing. Firstly beat the butter in a small bowl until pale and smooth then gradually beat in the icing sugar. Next add the espresso and mix well.
• Split the butter icing mix in half and spread one half on to the flat side of one sponge. Then place the second sponge on top. Finally add the reaming butter icing to the top sponge and evenly spread out. Once the icing is on place the walnuts around the top of the cake as you'd like.

MICROWAVE COFFEE & WALNUT CAKE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs followed by the flour and instant coffee. Stir most of the walnuts (if using) into the batter, reserving a few for decoration. Transfer to a microwave-proof dish and cook in the microwave on full power for 2 mins. Reduce the power to medium and cook for 2 mins.
• After 4 mins, check to see if the cake is cooked - it should be risen and spring back when touched. If it needs a bit longer, cook on medium for 1 min more at a time, checking after each minute until the cake is cooked. Remove and allow to cool.
• Meanwhile, make the coffee butter cream. Dissolve the coffee in the milk, then add the butter and icing sugar. Beat until smooth, spread over the cake and top with the reserved walnuts.