The Ultimate Makeover Coffee Walnut Cake 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.

FLUFFY COFFEE AND WALNUT CAKE WITH MOCHA BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Lightly butter three 8"-diameter cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Toast 2 cups (250 g) raw walnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, 12-14 minutes. Let cool. Set aside 1 cup walnuts for serving.
• Meanwhile, cook ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately stir in ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil or refined coconut oil, melted. Set brown butter mixture aside.
• Pulse remaining 1 cup toasted walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground (it should be the texture of panko). Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 2¼ tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ tsp. baking soda.
• Process 4 large eggs, 1¼ cups (250 g) sugar, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1 tsp. instant espresso powder in food processor (no need to clean bowl) until mixture is lightened in color and thickened, about 30 seconds. Stir 2 Tbsp. whole milk into reserved brown butter mixture. With motor running, gradually stream brown butter mixture into egg mixture and process until combined. Add dry ingredients and process just until a smooth batter forms. Divide batter among prepared pans.
• Bake cakes, rotating pans front to back after 15 minutes, until puffed and just starting to pull away from the sides of pans and a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks and let cakes cool 15 minutes. Run a small knife around edges of each cake to release from pan if needed. Turn out cakes onto racks and remove parchment paper; discard. Turn cakes right side up and let cool completely.
• Combine 8 large egg whites, 2¼ cups (450 g) sugar, ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ¼ tsp. cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Set over a medium saucepan filled with 1½" of simmering water (bowl should not touch water). Heat, stirring and scraping often with a heatproof rubber spatula, until sugar is dissolved and an instant-read thermometer registers 185°, 10-15 minutes.
• Fit bowl onto stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high, until meringue is shiny and stiff, 8-10 minutes. Beat in 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
• With mixer on medium speed, add 3 cups (6 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, a piece at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding more. Once all the butter has been added, increase speed to high and beat 1 minute. Transfer buttercream in bowl to refrigerator and chill 30 minutes.
• Fit bowl with buttercream back onto stand mixer and add ¼ cup (21 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted if needed, and 2 tsp. instant espresso powder. Beat on medium-low speed, scraping down sides as needed, until combined.
• Using a large serrated knife and long sawing strokes, remove tops of cakes to level if needed. Place a cake layer, right side up, on a cake stand or large plate. Using an offset spatula, spread ¼ cup buttercream over cake, working all the way to the edges. Place second cake layer, right side up, on top; spread another ¼ cup buttercream over cake, working all the way to the edges. Place third cake layer, cut side down, on top, and press lightly to adhere. Spread top and sides of cake with ½ cup buttercream in a thin, even layer. Chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours. (If chilling cake longer than 1 hour, cover remaining buttercream in bowl and chill. Bring to room temperature and beat again before using.)

COFFEE WALNUT LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch cake pans, and line base of each with parchment paper. In food processor, combine 1/2 cup walnut pieces and sugar. Process to a fine powder. Add butter, flour, baking powder, salt and eggs. Process to a smooth batter.
• Add 2 tablespoons milk to coffee mixture and pour this down feed tube with motor running. Mixture should be just soft enough to drop from a spoon; if not, add more milk. Divide cake batter between two pans. Bake until risen and springy to touch, about 25 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and place on rack. Remove parchment paper. Cool completely. You may want to level them if they domed in the oven.
• For frosting: Place confectioners' sugar and salt in food processor and pulse until lump-free. Add butter and process until smooth. Add coffee mixture down feed tube and pulse until well blended.
• Place one cake upside down on a plate or cake stand. Spread with about half the frosting. Place second cake right side up on frosting, and cover top and sides in a swirly pattern. Place a walnut half in center of cake, and gently press remaining halves into top of cake, around the edge.