Mini coffee and walnut loaf cakes

This weekend's bake was mini coffee and walnut loaf cakes. They are far too cute to be eaten - although, they are extremely moreish so you might have more than one at a time...

When I came to make the buttercream, I realised I didn't have enough icing sugar, and the shops were closed. I can assure you they taste quite alright without the buttercream! But extra good with it.

A simple recipe:

6oz butter
6oz golden caster sugar
3 eggs
6oz self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
50ml cold brewed coffee
Dash of milk
Handful of chopped walnuts

Cream the butter until smooth, then slowly add the sugar, and beat until really fluffy and light.
Add the eggs one at a time, with a bit of flour to prevent splitting.
Add the rest of the flour, mix gently, then add the cold coffee and milk.
Stir in the chopped nuts by hand until evenly mixed.

Pipe into the mini loaf moulds with a piping bag. This mixture made a bit too much for 12 mini loaves, so I ended up with 8 mini cupcakes too.

Bake at 170 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

To make the buttercream, cream 40g of butter with 125g of icing sugar, and a tablespoon of Camp coffee mixture. Mix until really fluffy and no grains of sugar can be felt.

Birthday coffee and walnut cake

For my dad's 70th birthday, I was thinking of making an elaborate 70-shaped cake with rolled icing and hours upon hours of decorating. However, my dad simply wanted a coffee and walnut cake. And what the birthday boy wants, he gets. So, a simple coffee and walnut cake it was.

8oz marg
8oz caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
8oz self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water

Cream the marg and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, then sift in the flour and baking powder, before adding the coffee. Pour into 2 prepared round tins. Bake at 180C (160 fan) for about 30 minutes until golden and coming away from the sides of the tins.

I decorated the cake with coffee buttercream, using a pack of butter, about 600g icing sugar, and 3 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water - but let the coffee cool first else it'll heat and melt the butter.

I covered the cake in a thin layer of buttercream before piping roses over the sides, then adding walnuts to the top. For such a simple recipe, this coffee and walnut cake is delicious - proving yet again that simple is best. Dad was really chuffed, and there was loads left over for me to scoff too!