This is a special recipe for me because it is my Gran’s coffee and walnut loaf cake. I think she made it up of various recipes but she always added milk to her cakes and so I have kind of kept the tradition too! I found the recipe amongst my recipe cards and just had to bake it! I love the fact that I still have the ingredients written in her handwriting! She used to make this most weeks and she was a very good baker. She always taught me to never overmix your cakes and she always made her bakes without electrical equipment. For this recipe, I have done the same and I think the result is a lighter and more delicate cake. I will definitely be baking more with the wooden spoon method in future as opposed to an electric whisk!
Recipe
175g butter
175g caster sugar
3 eggs beaten
1 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. coffee essence
225g self-raising flour
75g roughly chopped walnuts
Method
Preheat the oven to 180oC and grease a loaf tin.
Cream together the butter and sugar. You can do this by hand or use an electric whisk. For me, nothing is more satisfying than using a wooden spoon as you can control the mixing so you don’t get that overworked cake mix!
Coat the chopped walnuts in a little of the flour. This helps them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Add the other ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar, except for the walnuts. Use a figure of 8 with your wooden spoon to fold in the ingredients until they all combine. The trick is not to over whisk! Then fold in the walnuts carefully, trying not to knock any air out.
Transfer the cake mix into the greased loaf tin and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes until a cocktail stick comes out clean from the cake. It should also feel bouncy to touch.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wired rack to cool completely.
Happy baking! I hope you enjoy the recipe. It is really great to have a slice of this beautiful cake with a good cup of tea!
