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A classic bake in loaf cake form… what more could you want?! A coffee and walnut studded sponge with a smooth coffee buttercream frosting. YUM.

Coffee

I adore coffee now, but usually iced I won’t lie. I didn’t drink coffee until a couple of years ago, and now I adore all iced coffee, and I’m gradually learning to love hot coffee as well. However, coffee cake?! That’s always been yummy.

I know so many people who are not coffee drinkers who would happily have a slice of coffee cake as there is just something about it that is a little bit different. It’s a lovely warming flavour almost and I just adore it.

In case anyone was wondering, an iced white mocha is my favourite. I am coming round to a coconut milk mocha though? Both are great drinks to have with a side of coffee and walnut cake, however.

For this bake, I used instant coffee. I always have it lying around for bakes as it’s easier, but you can swap it to 1-2 tsps coffee extract, or even use a double espresso shot from a coffee machine.

Coffee bakes

I have posted a few coffee based bakes on my blog now, but definitely nowhere near enough. I adore my coffee and walnut cupcakes which are basically a mini version of this loaf cake, as well as my coffee cake which is a chunk of a cake. Trust me, it’s huge.

I wanted to do a coffee loaf cake as it’s been one of the most highly requested bakes EVER for something that is so so simple and classic. It’s a cake that I think so many people will eat at a bakery or when they’re out for coffee and cake.

Coffee is also a brilliant addition to a chocolate fudge cake because it brings out the chocolate flavour in the chocolate cake – it’s a wonderful ingredient that adds a delicious depth.

Loaf cakes

Loaf cakes are one of my favourite cakes to make. They are easy to pour into the correct tin, easier to decorate as they are so much simpler, and they always look like fun. They can be slightly annoying to photograph, but that’s no worries.

One slight annoyance with the actual baking process of a loaf cake however is that NO 2lb loaf tin is the same size. I know, this may sound ridiculous… but I recently bought 12 different loaf cake tins so that I could compare, and they were all different. Some, even though named the same size, could fit half of the volume of cake mix.

Because it’s so inconsistent, I always test my recipes using this 2lb loaf tin to make it easier. However, when making these cakes, make sure not to fill past 2/3 full so it doesn’t overflow. Any spare cake mix, if your tin is smaller, can be used to make cupcakes (they take 20 minutes to bake at 160ºc).

Some of my favourite loaf cakes I’ve made using this tin are my white chocolate and raspberry loaf cake, my chocolate orange loaf cake and my baileys chocolate fudge loaf cake – but this one? This coffee walnut loaf cake is definitely up there with one of my new favourites.

The cake

Butter – for the butter, you can use a baking spread or a block butter – both work well for the cake.
Sugar – because this is a coffee cake, I use brown sugar as it brings out the coffee flavour even more
Flour – self raising flour, as it’s for a cake. You can use plain flour of the same weight though, and mix in 2 level tsps baking powder per 150g of plain flour
Eggs – I always use medium eggs, so I used four eggs for this.
Coffee – I used a good quality instant coffee, but as mentioned above, you can use other coffee.
Walnuts – I use chopped walnuts so it’s smaller pieces spread throughout the cake mix

Decoration

The decoration is so easy when it comes to a loaf cake. I tend to always use my favourite piping tip, and swirl the buttercream in a rope like format across the cake in lines. You can of course just dollop the frosting on and spread, or pipe it in a different way.

Butter – you must use block butter for the frosting, and not a spread.
Sugar – I use icing sugar, of course.
Coffee – as with the cake, I used instant coffee dissolved in water, but you can use others.
Walnuts – I kept some as halves, and some chopped
Sprinkles – because why not?!

Tips and tricks

This bake will last for 4+ days at room temperature
You can freeze this bake for 3+ months
I use this 2lb loaf tin – if yours is smaller, only fill the tin 2/3 full.
You can swap it to 1-2 tsps coffee extract, or even use a double espresso shot from a coffee machine.
I use this piping tip
I use these piping bags