I was pleased as punch when this Coffee and Walnut Cake came out as well as it did during recipe development, needless to say I’ve made it many, many times since and it’s proven to be a very easy coffee cake recipe. I always thought I wasn’t a fan of Coffee & Walnut Cake because I’m not a fan of the coffee chocolates you get in selection boxes – but I do like a good latte. Plus I had family members who loved coffee cake so to please the majority, bake I did, and how glad I am of it!
UPDATE: I am working on a gluten, dairy and egg free version of this cake so please sign up to my newsletter to be the first to find out when I’m 100% happy with the result and post the recipe here.
In the meantime, if you are interested in dairy free and vegan recipes check out the collections below.
How wrong could I be, this is definitely on my top 10 list now (don’t ask me what the other 9 are…I’d probably have to use my fingers and toes to count! I’ve added a super tip at the bottom of this recipe, to be fair, this is an excellent tip to use in all your cake baking if you wish to achieve a light airy sponge.
As you’ll notice throughout my blog, I refer to not cutting corners and ensuring you prep baking sheets/tins/trays adequately. I’m the first person to hold my hand up when it comes to cutting corners to save time but as my journey progresses I realise that this is false economy.
Gluten Free baking demands respect so chill, prep and enjoy baking … lets face it, if your cakes end up like this beauty, it is so worth it!
Did you know… interesting facts about coffee!
Did you know that coffee could actually be good for you? I kid you not apparently there are potential health benefits associated with drinking coffee include protecting against type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, liver cancer, and promoting a healthy heart [Medical News Today]
Did you know that coffee beans are the pits of the cherry-like berries found on the flowering shrubs, but we call them “beans” because of the resemblance to legumes.
Did you know that Espresso means “pressed out” in Italian. This refers to the way espresso is made — forcing boiling water through pressed coffee grounds. And although espresso has more caffeine per volume than coffee, it would take three shots to equal the amount in a regular cup of joe. I was recently introduced to Espresso in France, I’d ordered a small black coffee in french, clearly poor french and got this instead, it was however delicious and I’ve been drinking Espresso’s ever since!
Other recipes that are similar to my Coffee and Walnut Cake
So you like coffee do you? Silly question really, so here are some other coffee inspired bakes to whet your whistle starting with my Mocha and Walnut Slice. Admittedly not your average bake and with a few ‘not the norm’ ingredients but this is a special treat so why not! Then you have my go-to recipe when I have friends over, this Mocha Cake is super simple, vegan and gluten free so nobody need miss out at cake and coffee time.
Other bakes that I urge you to look up are this Coffee Intense Mocha Roulade by The Gluten Free Alchemist, hold onto your socks when you click through, it’s beautifully decadent. And finally if you’d love a dessert of the coffee kind than how about this Latté Panna Cotta by the Intolerant Gourmand, I know I’ll be trying these for sure.
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Gorgeous Gluten Free Coffee and Walnut Cake Recipe
Gorgeous Gluten Free Coffee and Walnut Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 65 g Walnut pieces chopped to your liking
- 225 g Gluten Free Self Raising Flour
- 225 g Butter
- 225 g Caster Sugar
- 4 egg(s)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp strong black coffee or coffee extract either make an espresso or add hot water to granules
For the icing
- 150 g unsalted butter or dairy free alternative (I use Flora plant butter)
- 300 g icing/confectioners sugar
- 4 tsp strong black coffee or coffee extract
- 8-10 walnut halves to decorate
Instructions
- Cream the butter, and sugar together until paler in colour and light in texture.
- Add the eggs and coffee and beat mixture well
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and add the chopped walnuts, fold gently to combine – this will prevent knocking out to much air.
- Add the mixture evenly between two well prepared cake tins (grease and dust two 20cm round cake tins with flour to enable to cake to rise evenly).
- Pop into the oven on 190°C | 170°C fan | 375°F / Gas 5 for 25 mins.
- Remove when golden in colour and a light bounce to the touch.
- Allow the sponges to cool completely before adding the buttercream.
To make the icing
- Simply cream the ingredients together to make a smooth spreadable buttercream.
- Add half the mixture to the bottom cake sponge, place the top sponge onto and repeat.
- Decorate with the walnut halves.
- Invite friends and stick the kettle on!
Notes
If you want to achieve the lightest sponge possible, and have the time and patience, try sieving the flour 3-4 times before adding it to the mixture. This process aerates the flour and encourages a lighter sponge with a better rise.
Nutrition
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I tried this today.. did not work at all, was flat and rubbery 😔
What a shame Jenny, I can’t imagine what went wrong. This is a go-to recipe for me and it’s never failed. Rebecca x
Looks yummy, easy to follow. I will try it.
Thank you Colleen x
Thank you for the recipe! It was a terrific and yummy cake, very soft and fluffy. This would have to be the first cake I have made that is not dense and heavy as most gluten free cakes usually are. I altered a little to make it dairy free also using plant based butter. It turned out perfect. Thank you :)
What a wonderful comment to come on my website to find. Thank you so much Antonietta for your kind words and taking the time to come back and comment it is appreciated more than you could know xx
At the age of 72 I’m a newly diagnosed coeliac. I’m now trying to find gluten free recipes and I found this one today for the coffee and walnut cake. I made it this morning and have just had a slice of the finished cake and it’s delicious. Light and very tasty. Even my husband, who is not a cake eater, really enjoyed his slice. Now I really need to master a gluten free bread. All of my three attempts have ended up in the bin! 😡
incredible coffee sponge , the first time last made it I expected a flat sponge, as before your recipe I had never found any cake which tasted like a “real” coffee cake, I couldn’t find your site afterwards, but today I found a notelet that I had written glutarama on , so I made the cake straight a way, I have just taken it out of the oven it looks and smells wonderful. Thankyou
Thank you so much Muriel for coming back to me and leaving such wonderful feedback. Recipe developers often release their creations into the wild and never hear about how they are received in the big wide world, it is so lovely to hear back and it being positive feedback is all the more fulfilling. Thank you Rebecca x
This recipe is scrumptious and easy to make. We love it, as cake doesn’t last 24hs and we are a family of only 4 people. Thank you for sharing your work here. We are very very luck to have found you. My tummy doesn’t like gluten, although my mind does :D
This comment has made my evening, thank you for taking the time to come by and say so Silvia.
Love this recipe. I made it for my daughters birthday and it was so yummy :)
Thank you for commenting Claire, it’s lovey to get feedback like this x
What a beautiful looking cake, I love the high rise! I don’t make many desserts since my Celiac diagnosis, but this cake looks delicious! Coffee and walnut are a great combination.
It takes a while to get your baking mojo back Leslie but now I find I can’t make a cake with normal flour, its just all in the practice…and don;t be upset when it doesn’t work, the birds will still eat it!!! x
This was AMAZING
I’m thrilled you thought so, thanks for taking the time to comment, it really makes my day.
YES PLEASE! I LOVE coffee and walnut cake. It’s one of my absolute favourites. :-D Your coffee story made me laugh – if you just order ‘un café’ in France – that is what you get! If you want what we’d think of as a small black coffee, you have to order ‘un café allongé’ – which is my personal favourite. It’s like an espresso but with a little bit more water – but not as much as an Americano. It’s something we don’t really do here, but I wish we did as I love it. I make them at home with my nespresso machine though :-D Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x
You should be a part of a contest for one of the finest sites on the internet.
I’m going to highly recommend this web site!
OMG that really does look gorgeous!
Thank you Jacqueline, it does rather hit the spot!
This looks delicious and full of flavour!
What a beauty! It looks absolutely gorgeous. I’d love a slice or 5 with a nice latte. x
Thank you Mel, all those years and I was missing out…making up for it now though!!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us at Allergy Free Thursdays! It looks delicious!
This cake looks amazing! Yum.
Thankyou, it total was. Always a winner in this family ?
Hi Rebecca, so glad I’ve found your blog. I’ve recently discovered I have an intolerance to gluten which in itself doesn’t bother me but I do love to bake and was overwhelmed with mixes of flours most recipes need you to make up that was until I found you! ? I absolutely love coffee and walnut cake so I’m gonna try this, I was just wondering if you could make them in to cupcakes and if so what would you have the temperature at and for how long…any ideas? Thanks Lisa x
Hello Lisa and welcome, glad you found us. Cupcakes sounds like an amazing idea, must give it a try, at a guess I’d say 10mins on Gas 5 (190C) to bake, I reckon this would make 12 large cupcakes easily and the icing would pipe them just fine. Would love to see your creations good luck and keep me posted ? ?
I made it with 25 per cent buckwheat flour and came out beautiful and the taste was excellent. .
Brilliant idea Tom, love the fact you added your personal touch to it…far more nutritious too using buckwheat.