Coffee & Walnut Loaf Cake
There is something magical about the combination of coffee and walnuts in this Coffee & Walnut Loaf cake, a moist sponge slathered in an espresso buttercream topping. This is an old classic combination from my childhood which is always a firm favourite and often seen in many cafes around England.
Using the one-bowl method, loaf cakes are one of the easiest and satisfying varieties of cake to create, they are easier to decorate than other types of cake and they always look good. This Coffee & Walnut Loaf cake is no exception, one of my favourites and many other households’ too. Take a look at my collection of loaf cake recipes for inspiration.
If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment below and rate it – it’s really helpful to me and other readers to know what you think! And don’t forget to take a picture and tag me @thegourmetlarder or hashtag it #thegourmetlarder on Instagram or Facebook. I love seeing what you’ve been baking! 🙂
RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS
- EASE: one bowl recipe, making it quick and easy with impressive results.
- TASTE & TEXTURE: buttery, moist sponge flavoured with coffee and walnuts with an espresso buttercream topping.
- QUANTITY: 12 slices.
- TIME: 1 hour (includes 45-50 minutes baking time).
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INGREDIENTS
What you’ll need for making this coffee and pecan loaf cake recipe:
- Butter – make sure you bring the butter to room temperature so it will cream easily. Room temperature means it’s soft enough, so when you press into it, your finger leaves a dent, but not too soft that it’s greasy or oily. Also, make sure to use unsalted butter to ensure the cake doesn’t turn out too salty.
- Soft brown sugar – creates moisture and a caramelised taste to the cake.
- Espresso coffee or instant – one of our heroes in this recipe.
- Medium eggs – build structure and richness to a recipe. Make sure they are at room temperature before use.
- Milk – helps to create a soft crumb by adding moisture. Make sure its at room temperature before use.
- Plain (all-purpose) flour – builds structure.
- Walnuts – our second hero in this recipe.
- Vanilla – I use Taylor & Colledge vanilla products, they add a delicious taste to your recipes and enhance the other ingredient flavours: pure vanilla extract, vanilla paste or vanilla pods.
- Salt – I highly recommend adding a good pinch of salt to your cakes. It might seem a bit weird, but it actually has the incredible ability to enhance sweetness, suppress bitterness, and elevate the flavour of all the ingredients, making your cake taste even better. It’s pretty crazy, the sodium in the salt sends signals to move glucose into your tongue’s sweet taste receptors, making the sweetness really pop. So, don’t be afraid to sprinkle a little salt – it’ll take your cakes to the next level!
WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?
Here are a few simple adaptations that you can make to change up the flavour of this coffee and walnut loaf cake recipe.
- Nuts – swap the walnuts for pecans or hazelnuts. Pinenuts also make an interesting difference.
- Alcohol: Kahlua and Tia Maria, are well known coffee liqueurs, try adding a shot to the cake or the glaze.
- Spices – I have used cinnamon in this recipe, but you can try a teaspoon of ground nutmeg or cloves.
Decorating
Loaf cakes are so easy when it comes to decorating. Firstly, choose from a simple glaze, icing or buttercream. I always find it depends on my mood, if I need to store or travel with it.
Espresso syrup glaze
- 130g icing sugar
- 2 shot of espresso or 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water.
Gradually mix the coffee with the icing sugar until it dissolves to form a thin paste. Drizzle the espresso glaze over the cooled cake and then leave to set before slicing and serving.
Espresso icing
- 130g icing sugar
- 1 shot of espresso or 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp warm water.
- 1 tbsp of double cream (heavy cream 30%)
Mix the coffee and cream with the icing sugar until you get a thick icing but still pourable. Pour the icing on the cooled cake and spread it evenly using a spatula. Leave to set before slicing and serving.
Buttercreams & frostings
I made a simple buttercream for this loaf cake, which can be found in the recipe. Alternatively, there are other buttercream and frosting recipes you could try.
Here are a few other options to consider, simply click on the name for the recipe.
- Classic vanilla buttercream – the classic and easiest of all butter based frostings, which can be coloured and flavoured.
- Chocolate fudge buttercream – similar to classic buttercream with the addition of melted chocolate and cocoa.
- Cream cheese frosting – one of my favourites and super easy to make. It can be made into a chocolate version or flavoured and coloured as you wish. It needs to be kept refrigerated when stored and does not hold its shape as well as other frostings.
- Chocolate ganache – this is one that goes with almost anything and is utterly delicious! It can be made as a simple glaze or whipped into a frosting.
If you experiment, please leave a comment at the bottom of the post – it’s really helpful to me and other readers to know how you got on. I regularly update these posts and the feedback I receive helps to make the recipes even more useful and interesting.
NUTRITION
Serving: one coffee and walnut loaf cake slice
Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.
I strive to keep the information as accurate as possible but make no warranties regarding its accuracy.
I encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 487 kcal (24%) |
| Total Fat | 26.9 g (38%) |
| Carbs | 58.8 g (23%) |
| Sugars | 41.3 g (46%) |
| Protein | 5.2 g (10%) |
STORAGE AND FREEZING
This cake will keep well at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. If you’ve topped your cake with a frosting, then store it in the fridge.
Freezing: Freeze the loaf whole or cut it into slices in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
© THE GOURMET LARDER. All images and content are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe, please do so using the share buttons provided. Please do not republish the recipe or its content in full instead, include a link to this post for the recipe. Further information can be found in my FAQ’s.
TOOLS YOU’LL NEED
Here is some kitchen equipment that I use and recommend for this recipe.
These spatulas are so useful for baking. I use them every day and not just for baking. They have good rigid handles, excellent for scraping out bowls, dishes and frying pans. The large spatula is not flat, it has a raised centre, which makes it very strong.
Perfect for banana bread, lemon drizzle, pound cake and traditional loaves.
Digital kitchen scales: I highly recommend using metric measurements rather than cup measurements. If you have ever ended up with dry, dense, or crumbly baked goods, it might be because of inaccurate volume measurements, not all measuring cups are made equally. All my recipes are carefully developed so that you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success, using metric measurements. It is also a lot easier, and less messy and you will get far better, consistent results. 🙂
If you are interested in understanding conversions, here you will find the best conversion chart.
Please check out my Shop for a curated collection of some of my favourite baking equipment. The Gourmet Larder is an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
RECIPE TIPS
- Lining your pan – I highly recommend lining your pan with baking paper or parchment paper, NOT greaseproof paper. It makes it so much easier to remove the cakes.
- Try not to let your batter curdle – when adding the eggs, make sure to add one at a time and mix on a low speed. It’s really important you take your time.
- Once you added the flour don’t over mix the cake batter as it will lead to a tough and rubbery cake.
- Sudden temperature changes can cause cakes to sink in the middle, to prevent this avoid opening the oven door before 3/4 of the baking time, even if you need to rotate your cake.
- When checking your cake, to see if it is baked, quickly slide it out on the oven shelf just a little, test with a skewer and if it comes out clean its ready. If it’s not quite done, you can push it back quickly for a few more minutes.
Coffee and Walnut Loaf Cake
INGREDIENTS LIST
- 250 g butter (softened)
- 250 g soft light brown sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 60 ml espresso coffee (two shots of espresso or 1 tsp instant coffee made with 2 tablespoons of warm water)
- 100 ml milk
- 250 g self-raising or plain flour (all-purpose)
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 70 g walnuts (chopped )
Coffee Buttercream
- 250 g icing sugar (US powdered sugar)
- 45 g butter
- 30 ml espresso coffee (or 1 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp warm water)
- 1 pinch of fine sea salt
Decoration
- 30 g walnuts
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 170°C fan / 375°F / Gas 5 and line a 2-pound loaf pan (900g) with baking or parchment paper.
- Instant coffee: if you are using instant coffee, mix it with tablespoons of water and leave to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until the mixture is very light and fluffy. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Mix in the milk and the espresso coffee.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt into the bowl and stir until you have a smooth batter. Finally, incorporate the chopped walnuts.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and smooth over the surface of the cake batter to level it.
- Baking: Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden and a toothpick or skewer comes out with a sticky crumb or two attached. Watch it carefully as it has a tendency to easily over bake. Tent the cake with foil for the final 15 minutes if it is browning too quickly.
- Allow the cake to cool in the baking tin/pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Buttercream: Make the coffee and melt the butter over a low heat or in a microwave. Whisk together the icing sugar, coffee, salt and butter in a small bowl, then drizzle it over the cooled loaf and scatter the chopped walnuts on top.
- Allow the cake to set before slicing.
Notes & Tips
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