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A Moist Coffee And Walnut Loaf Cake
Make this delicious coffee and walnut loaf cake that’s soft, moist and also a popular UK classic! It’s decorated with a smooth layer of coffee buttercream and topped with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts.
Coffee in a cake, paired with walnuts? Where do I sign up! This cake is so tasty it’s bound to become your new favourite coffee dessert.
The texture is soft, so moist and the walnuts add a delicious crunch that goes perfectly with the coffee flavour. Plus, the topping is a luscious buttercream that contributes an extra burst of sweet coffee goodness.
I don’t know about you, but any combo including coffee and walnuts like this loaf cake, is my idea of utter bliss. Get ready to sit down, put the kettle on and take a big slice of this amazingly good cake.
Why You’ll Like This Recipe
- It’s perfect with a cup of coffee (especially a tiramisu latte) and for afternoon tea
- You can make this coffee walnut cake in just 1 hour
- The texture is moist, fluffy and incredibly soft
- This recipe is perfect for budding bakers – it’s so simple!
Watch How To Make It
A Coffee Walnut Cake That’s Easy And Moist
I LOVE making this cake because it’s BIG on flavour and has a slightly caramel-like sweetness that compliments the nutty flavours from the walnuts very well.
It’s baked in a loaf tin, so when the cake comes out from the oven, your finishing touches are a breeze – simply add a dollop of coffee buttercream with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts or you can leave it plain instead.
Recipe Ingredients
Below are the few ingredients needed for this recipe:
- Light Brown Sugar: I like to use light brown sugar, but you can use dark brown sugar for an intense caramel-like flavour or caster sugar if that’s what you have.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter; this is down to personal preference. Soft spreadable butter or margarine works well.
- Self-Raising Flour: Use self-raising flour instead of plain flour for a good rise.
- Eggs: Use eggs at room temperature for best results.
- Chopped Walnuts: You can’t make this cake without it! I brought walnuts pre-chopped, but you can buy whole walnuts and chop it yourself.
- Coffee: To create the coffee flavour you can dissolve instant coffee in a little bit of water (that’s what I do) or you can buy coffee essence and add a tablespoon to the cake batter.
- Vanilla Extract (Optional): You don’t have to add vanilla extract to this coffee walnut cake, but it does make this recipe even more luscious and rich in flavour.
Love coffee?
This is not my first coffee dessert on this site, I’ve also made these delicious coffee kisses (they’re coffee buttercream sandwiched biscuits) and these must-try tiramisu brownies.
Plus, if you like a hot cup of coffee in the morning or anytime during the day, then you need to check out my Grind Coffee Review.
How To Make The Best Coffee And Walnut Loaf Cake
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to make this easy coffee and walnut cake – a UK classic! Full recipe instructions are on the recipe card:
Step One:
Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°Fan, gas mark 4, 350°F) and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
Place butter and light brown sugar into a large mixing bowl and mix together until light and fluffy.
Step Two:
Add the eggs, vanilla extract and a tablespoon of coffee dissolved in water (or one tablespoon of coffee essence) to the mixing bowl and mix together until evenly distributed.
Step Three:
Add flour and chopped walnuts into the mixing bowl and mix together until a cake batter has formed.
Step Four:
Pour the mixture into a 2lb loaf tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when poked inside.
How To Make The Coffee Buttercream Icing
Step Five:
To make the coffee and walnut buttercream icing, add butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk together until light and fluffy.
Add a tablespoon of milk and instant coffee dissolved in water or one tablespoon of coffee essence and whisk until evenly combined.
Once the cake has cooled, spread the buttercream over the cake and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
My Top Tips
Allow the cake to cool down before adding the buttercream, otherwise it will melt off the cake. To speed up the cake cooling time, place it in a cool room with a fan on.
Don’t skip lining your loaf tin, it makes removing the cake super simple. I like to grease the loaf tin with butter, then cut a long piece of parchment paper that covers the base and overflows over the long sides of the tin. The overflowing sides is what I use to lift the cake out with ease. Check out the picture below!
Avoid over-mixing the cake batter, stop mixing immediately after each step once the ingredients have come together. Over-mixing can result in the cake texture turning dense instead of being light and fluffy.
When pouring the cake batter into the loaf tin, make sure to evenly distribute the chopped walnuts. This is to ensure a piece of walnut in every bite.
Keep an eye on the time or the cake will dry out and over-bake in the oven!
Coffee And Walnut Recipe Variations
Extra Coffee Boost: To enhance the coffee flavour, once the cake has come out of the oven, poke few holes using a skewer and drizzle coffee syrup or coffee liquor onto the cake for it to soak up the flavour.
Grind The Walnuts: If you don’t like chunks of walnuts in your cake, then you can grind the walnuts into fine small pieces. Or simply sprinkle a few pieces of walnuts on top of the cake before baking it into the oven instead of mixing it into the cake batter.
Add Fruit: Dried fruits likes cranberries, currants or raisins are great additions to this cake and will add extra flavour and texture.
Change The Shape: Make a Mary Berry coffee and walnut cake by baking the cake in a roasting tray, for a rectangle-shaped loaf.
How To Store And Freeze
To store, keep the iced buttercream coffee and walnut cake in an airtight container and store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Undecorated coffee walnut cake can last up to 5 days.
You can freeze a plain undecorated loaf! To freeze, simply place the cake in a freezer-safe and airtight container and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Cut the cake into slices before freezing to defrost pre-portioned slices.
What Cake Tin Did You Use?
I used a 2lb non-stick loaf tin; the coffee and walnut cake batter fills around two thirds of the loaf tin.
The cake will expand whilst baking in the oven, so it’s important not to use a loaf tin that is too small as the cake can overflow.
Why Did My Coffee And Walnut Cake Not Rise?
There are many reasons as to why a loaf cake might sink whilst baking in the oven, I’ve listed the 3 most common reasons below:
Opening The Oven Door Too Soon or Too Wide: Opening the oven door will cause the temperature to drop. During initial baking, this can cause the cake to collapse and therefore cause the cake not to rise fully.
Over-mixing or Under-mixing: Under or over-mixing the cake batter can impact the texture and how much the cake rises. Make sure to stop mixing as soon as the ingredients come together.
Using Plain Flour: Plain flour has no raising-agents in it, so it’s best to use self-raising flour to aid growth.
More Cake Recipes
Want more cake? Check out this list of delicious recipes below:
- Chocolate Orange Cake
- Carrot Cake Traybake
- Old School Cake (Vanilla Sponge)
- Biscoff Banana Bread
- Carrot Cake Muffins
- Jam Sponge Pudding
Coffee And Walnut Loaf (So Moist)
Ingredients
Coffee And Walnut Loaf Cake
- 200 g Light Brown Sugar
- 200 g Butter
- 200 g Self-Raising Flour
- 60 g Chopped Walnuts
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tbsp Instant Coffee (Dissolved In Water) (Or 1 tbsp Coffee Essence)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Coffee Buttercream Icing
- 180 g Icing Sugar
- 90 g Butter
- 1 tbsp Instant Coffee (Dissolved In Water) (Or 1 tbsp Coffee Essence)
- 1 tbsp Milk (Optional)
- Chopped Walnuts (Handful To Decorate)
Instructions
How To Make Coffee And Walnut Loaf Cake
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°Fan, gas mark 4, 350°F) and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
- Place butter and light brown sugar into a large mixing bowl and mix together until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract and a tablespoon of coffee dissolved in water (or one tablespoon of coffee essence) to the mixing bowl and mix together until evenly distributed.
- Add flour and chopped walnuts into the mixing bowl and mix together until a cake batter has formed.
- Pour the mixture into a 2lb loaf tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when poked inside.
How To Make The Coffee Buttercream Icing
- To make the coffee and walnut buttercream icing, add butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk together until light and fluffy.
- Add a tablespoon of milk and instant coffee dissolved in water or one tablespoon of coffee essence and whisk until evenly combined.
- Once the cake has cooled, spread the buttercream over the cake and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Music in video from Uppbeat, License code: 08VBCZFHCZBZDBBY
Leonora
It’s Great! Thanks for the recipe
Michelle
You’re welcome, thanks for commenting!
carlene garwacki
can you write this up in english instead of ounces like measuring cups and spoons
Michelle
Hi Carlene, I have the recipe in grams (which should be the default viewing). There is a toggle next to where it says ingredients in the recipe card. If you click on ‘Metric’ then the ingredients will be in grams.