Today is my birthday, so I’m celebrating with a classic that, for all the sticky tres leches and sophisticated sachertortes I’ve enjoyed in recent years, remains my absolute favourite, my desert island cake: that darling of the WI tea tent, the coffee and walnut sandwich. The great Nigel Slater once named it his last meal on Earth, and I’m hoping to have it for tea.
Prep 30 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 8
225g room-temperature butter
4 tbsp instant coffee (see step 1)
100g walnut halves
4 eggs
225g soft light brown sugar
225g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp fine salt
Milk (optional)
For the icing
165g room-temperature butter
425g icing sugar
¼ tsp salt
4 tbsp double cream (optional)
1 Soften the butter and brew the coffee
If you’ve forgotten to get your butter out of the fridge, begin by dicing and spacing it out on the paper to soften (remember, you’ll need some for the icing, too).
Mix the coffee with two tablespoons of boiling water and leave to cool – I like the nostalgic flavour of instant coffee here, but you can substitute three tablespoons of espresso or other strong coffee, if you prefer.
2 Toast the nuts
Toast the walnut halves in a dry pan until they smell nutty, then set aside a quarter of the most handsome-looking ones to use as decoration later. Roughly chop the rest. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4, and grease and base line two 20cm sandwich tins. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat.
3 Cream the butter and sugar
Put the butter in a food mixer or a large bowl anchored with a damp cloth to steady it, then beat it briefly to soften. Crumble in the sugar to break up any lumps, then carry on beating for several minutes, until the butter is really light and fluffy; scrape down the bowl as required.
4 Add the eggs and flour
With the mixer (or your wooden spoon) still going, gradually pour in the eggs and beat to incorporate, again scraping the sides as necessary.
Tip the flour and baking powder into a bowl, whisk to knock out any lumps, then add to the batter. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold the bottom of the mixture over the top, but do so only once.
5 Add the coffee and chopped nuts
Add the salt, half the coffee (keep the rest for the icing) and the chopped walnuts, then slowly fold in, just until the flour and coffee are completely incorporated – bear in mind that the more more vigorously you fold, the more air you will knock out of the batter, so it’s important not to overdo it.
6 Finish the batter, then bake
The batter should by now fall from the spoon, slightly reluctantly but without the need for violent agitation; if it doesn’t, loosen with a little milk. Divide evenly between the two tins (weigh them for perfection).
Put in the oven, on the middle shelf if using a conventional setting, and bake for about 25 minutes (check after 20, though!), until well risen but not too dark. Remove the tins from the oven, leave to cool for 10 minutes, then take out of the tins and put on a rack to cool completely.
7 Start the icing
Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat the butter until soft; my mixer is not good with smaller amounts so I tend to use a mixing bowl, again anchored to the work surface with a damp cloth, and electric beaters or a wooden spoon. Sift in the icing sugar to get rid of any lumps, then add the salt.
8 Finish the icing
Beat to combine, then add the reserved cooled coffee and the cream – though optional, the latter does make the icing easier to spread; for a less rich result; use a splash of milk instead. Put the less perfect looking of the two cakes (there’s always one) on a platter.
9 Decorate, then serve
Top the cake on the platter with a little less than half the icing, leaving it thicker around the edges where it will be seen, then pop the second cake on top. Spoon the remaining icing over the second cake, spreading it out neatly and adding a few swirls for interest, then arrange the reserved toasted walnuts pleasingly all over the top. Avoid chilling before slicing and serving, unless it’s really necessary.
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Felicity Cloake’s new book, Peach Street to Lobster Lane: Coast to Coast in Search of Real American Cuisine, is published by Mudlark at £16.99. To order a copy for £15.29 go to guardianbookshop.com