Homemade cakes are always a treat, with their moist yet crumbly texture being simply irresistible straight from the oven. Among the quintessential British favourites are the humble carrot cake, Victoria sponge and, of course, the intensely rich coffee and walnut cake. However, those who have tried their hand at making the latter will know that achieving the perfect balance of espresso and vanilla flavours is not as easy as it seems.
Even when following recipes by culinary legends like Mary Berry, crafting a coffee cake can be quite the challenge, says Johnny England, a coffee maestro at Löfbergs. He suggests there’s a simple solution to this common home baking issue; unsurprisingly, it all boils down to how you prepare the coffee used in the cake batter. Johnny shared his golden rule for enhancing any coffee cake recipe, including one that Mary Berry showcased on The Great Sport Relief Bake Off.
While Mary’s recipe is bound to produce the “delicious” results she claims, Johnny suggests slightly tweaking the coffee element.
In this recipe, substitute the “one tablespoon of instant coffee dissolved in one tablespoon of hot water” with strong-brewed coffee.
You can achieve this either by increasing the amount of ground coffee without altering the amount of water or by using a stronger type of coffee.
“When it comes to choosing the right coffee to go in a coffee cake, it all depends on the flavour you want to achieve, however generally speaking, a strong brewed coffee is the best choice of coffee for a coffee cake as it will add flavour and depth to the dessert, and the strong flavour also works well against the sweetness of the cake”, said Johnny.
He added: “It’s also important to choose a medium to dark roast coffee, such as Löfbergs Brazil Single Origin (available in Waitrose and at Discount Dragon), as these types of coffee often have nutty and chocolatey undertones, making them perfect for desserts, especially coffee cake.”
How to make Mary Berry’s coffee cake
Mary’s tantalisingly good cake starts by preheating the oven to 180°C/160 °C fan. Then, lightly butter two loose-bottomed 20cm/8in sandwich tins and line the bases with baking paper.
Combine the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, and freshly brewed coffee in a large mixing bowl. Beat everything together (using an electric hand whisk if you have one) until well combined and smooth.
Now fold in the walnuts. Evenly distribute the mixture between the prepared tins, smoothing the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, signifying that the cakes are fully baked. Once done, remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the tins on a kitchen counter for five minutes.
Use a small palette knife or a rounded butter knife to loosen the edges of the cakes from the tins, then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack. Gently remove the baking paper and allow the sponges to cool completely.
For the filling and topping, cream the butter and gradually incorporate the icing sugar. Add the coffee (prepared in the same manner as for the sponge mixture), and beat until smooth.
Select the cake with the most appealing top, then place the other cake upside down on a serving plate and spread half of the coffee icing over it.
Join the two halves together with the remaining icing. Garnish the top of the cake with walnut pieces and serve.