Coffee and Walnut Cake (Felicity Cloake's perfect)

Tempo

1 hr 15 min

Picante

Dificuldade

Fácil

Rende

8porções

Ingredientes

Modo de preparo

01**Prep.** Preheat AFO to 180°C convection bake. Grease and line 2 × 18 cm (7 in) round cake tins (*formas redondas para bolo*) with parchment.
02**Cream.** Beat butter + sugar **5 min** with electric beaters until pale, fluffy, and visibly aerated. The volume increase is the cake's lift; underbeat = dense cake.
03**Eggs.** Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. If the mix curdles, add 1 tbsp of the flour to bring it back.
04**Fold in dry + flavour.** Sift flour + salt over the bowl. Fold gently with a metal spoon. Add chopped walnuts + cooled espresso; fold to incorporate. Don't overmix.
05**Divide + bake.** Split batter equally between tins. Smooth tops. **Bake 25 min** until risen, golden, and a skewer comes out clean. (AFO with convection may run faster — check at 22 min.)
06**Cool** 5 min in tins; turn out onto a rack; cool completely.
07**Buttercream.** Beat butter until pale. Sift in icing sugar in 2 additions, beating after each. Add espresso; beat to a spreadable, fluffy texture. If too stiff, add ½ tsp hot water.
08**Sandwich + top.** Spread half the buttercream on the bottom layer; sandwich. Spread remaining on top. Decorate with walnut halves around the edge.

Coffee and Walnut Cake (Cloake's perfect)

Nigel Slater calls this his last meal on earth. Featherweight Victoria-sponge butteriness + carrot-cake nut crunch + the bittersweet fragrance of a strong coffee. A homely cake, but iconic when made well.

Heat: 0/5.

Ingredients (composite from Cloake's roundup)

Cake:

175 g unsalted butter, softened (manteiga sem sal em ponto pomada)
175 g caster sugar (açúcar refinado fino)
3 large eggs, at room temp
175 g self-raising flour (farinha com fermento; or 175 g plain + 1½ tsp baking powder)
75 g walnut halves, finely chopped (nozes em pedaços pequenos)
2 tbsp very strong espresso coffee, cooled (café espresso bem forte, ~30 ml)
Pinch salt

Coffee buttercream:

100 g unsalted butter, softened
200 g icing sugar, sifted (açúcar de confeiteiro peneirado)
2 tbsp very strong espresso, cooled
~12 walnut halves, to decorate

Notes

Coffee strength matters. Use real espresso, not instant dissolved in water. If only instant: 2 tsp dissolved in 30 ml hot water, cooled completely. Coffee is the soul of the cake.
Walnut quality: UK/Brazilian nozes — fresh ones from a nozeria, not stale supermarket ones. Stale walnuts = soapy cake.
Why self-raising flour: Cloake's preferred for tenderness. Plain + baking powder works but is slightly drier.
Don't skip creaming time. The cake's lightness lives in the 5-min beat.
Make-ahead: unfrosted layers freeze 1 month. Defrost wrapped before frosting.
Tea pairing: strong English breakfast or proper Indian masala chai.