The best coffee walnut sandwich cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake. The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

Coffee Walnut Cake! What a wonderful cake and the coffee cream cheese frosting sandwiched in between the cake layers just adds a prefect finish!

For this recipe, I've used one of my basic cake recipes and adjusted it to get a lovely fluffy texture and accommodate the walnuts inside the cake.

It is a light, fluffy sponge cake, a bit like eating clouds, and the flavor is very delicious. The addition of a simple coffee cream cheese frosting adds another dimension to each bite, so all in all, this is a very nice eat!

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... and of course, it goes perfectly with a lovely cup of tea or coffee.

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake. The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

This coffee walnut cake uses 2 round cake tins, which means I can make a sandwich cake with the frosting in between the layers and then on top too. However, this cake will also cook very well as a loaf cake, so if you prefer that, all you need to do is take note of the longer cook time.

Otherwise, everything else stays the same.

The cake itself is not sickly sweet, because the frosting has cream cheese, which adds a slight sourness, which goes well against the sugar. If you do have a particularly sweet tooth, I would suggest you taste the frosting as you are making it and add a little more sugar to your taste.

Check out our handy Oven Temperature Conversion Guide!

This coffee walnut cake will also freeze very well, so if you needed to make ahead, or perhaps you wanted to freeze in portions, then all you need to do is wrap it very well in some parchment and then airtight in a zip bag and simply defrost to room temperature when you wish to eat it.

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake. The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

If you love walnuts, check out our delicious Walnut Butter Cookies. They also would be great if you're hosting an afternoon tea party!

How do you put coffee in a cake?

The recipe is very similar to a traditional sponge type cake, so we have the regular ingredients, flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. Then we infuse some delicious coffee flavor into the cake and there you have a coffee-flavored cake. 

The simplest way to make a cake coffee flavored is to use instant coffee, as we have done in this recipe, and add it to the cake batter.

What can I use instead of instant coffee in a recipe?

You may want to use something else instead of instant coffee. You can use a finely ground espresso. Make sure it is very fine ground, so that the grains don't create a crunchy grainy texture in the cake.

If you make freshly brewed coffee, make it very strong and drop the milk quantity in the recipe down to ½ cup and use ¼ cup of your very strong brewed coffee. 

I don't drink instant coffee at home, however, I buy the small individual sachets of instant coffee from the supermarket. I use those for baking as they're convenient to have in my store cupboard.

So let's see how to make this easy coffee walnut cake recipe! It's by far the best coffee walnut cake recipe I know!

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

18 minutes OR 1 hr for a loaf pan

Yield

8 Persons

Ingredients

The Cake

225 g or 1 ¾ cups Plain / All purpose flour (sieved)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
175 g or ¾ cup softened butter
200 g or 1 cup of regular sugar
150 ml or ⅔ cup of Milk
2 Large eggs (lightly beaten)
4 teaspoons of coffee granules dissolved in 1 Tablespoon hot water.
140g or 1 Cup of walnuts

The frosting

200g or 8 oz cream cheese
100g or 3 & ½ oz butter
3 Tbsp regular sugar
1 Tbsp coffee granules dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 170C,  325F. Grease and lightly flour two 8-inch or 20 cm loose-bottomed round cake tins. I always like to place a disc of parchment in the base of each tin so the cake comes out very easily. You can also use our easy pan release recipe if you don't have any parchment paper.

2. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder.

Crush the walnuts. Make sure the pieces are NO LARGER than pea size. Any bigger and they will sink to the bottom during baking.

NOTE: save a few whole walnuts for decorating the top if you wish.

I find it easiest to put the walnuts in a back and use the end of a rolling pin and bash them until I get the size of crumb I want

crushing walnuts

3. Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
** NOTE: Creaming the butter and sugar is VERY important to get a fluffy texture to the cake crumb. Please make sure you use your mixer and cream until you see the color of the butter turn almost white. It will take you around 5 - 7 minutes for this to happen, and it is worth the extra time taken!

Creaming butter and sugar

4. Add egg mixture, a little at a time to the batter. Then add the coffee mixture, half the flour, then milk, then the rest of flour. Add the walnuts and make sure they are well combined and distributed.

5. Transfer the cake mixture to the greased and lined cake pans then place in the oven for about 18 minutes. Check to see if it is cooked, using a skewer.

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake, in the oven

If using a loaf pan, keep the same temperature, and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hr 10 minutes. Again, check for doneness.

6. Allow the cakes to rest for 2 minutes in their pans,

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake, cake resting in pans

then remove from pans and place UPSIDE DOWN on a cooling rack. This will help to keep them level when you come to sandwich them together.

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake, cakes inverted on cooling rack

Allow to COMPLETELY cool before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

7. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. This will take around 3 minutes.

Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting, beat butter and sugar

Add the cream cheese and coffee mixture and beat until smooth.

Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting, add coffee

At this point, taste the frosting for sweetness. If you want more, just add some more sugar, half a tablespoon at a time until it is to your liking.

NOTE: If your cake is still warm, refrigerate the frosting until you are ready to use.

Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting, showing consistency

At this point, if your cake has cooled, place one cake on a serving plate, frost the top then place the other cake on top of the frosting

Frost the top and the sides if you wish to. Then decorate with a few whole walnuts or other decorations of your choice.

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake. The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

You can simply spread the frosting or use a piping bag if you would like a pretty pattern. You choose!

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake. The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

You can refrigerate the cake until ready or serve it immediately.

Make up a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake. The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our post. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake. The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

Recipe

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake. The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 33 minutes

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake.
The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

Ingredients

The Cake

  • 225 g or 1 ¾ cups Plain / All purpose flour (sieved)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 175 g or ¾ cup softened butter
  • 200 g or 1 cup of regular sugar
  • 150 ml or ⅔ cup of Milk
  • 2 Large eggs (lightly beaten)
  • 4 teaspoons of coffee granules dissolved in 1 Tablespoon hot water.
  • 140g or 1 Cup of walnuts

The frosting

  • 200g or 8 oz cream cheese
  • 100g or 3 & ½ oz butter
  • 3 Tbsp regular sugar
  • 1 Tbsp coffee granules dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 170c,  325F. Grease and lightly flour two 8-inch or 20 cm loose-bottomed round cake tins. I always like to place a disc of parchment in the base of each tin so the cake comes out very easily. You can also use our easy pan release recipe if you don't have any parchment paper.
    2. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder.
      Crush the walnuts. Make sure the pieces are NO LARGER than pea size. Any bigger and they will sink to the bottom during baking.
      NOTE: save a few whole walnuts for decorating the top if you wish.
      I find it easiest to put the walnuts in a bag and use the end of a rolling pin and bash them until I get the size of crumb I want
    3. Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
      Please make sure you use your mixer and cream until you see the color of the butter turn almost white. It will take you around 5 - 7 minutes for this to happen, and it is worth the extra time taken!
    4. Add egg mixture, a little at a time to the batter. Then add the coffee mixture, half the flour, then milk, then the rest of the flour. Add the walnuts and make sure they are well combined and distributed.
    5. Transfer the cake mixture to the greased and lined cake pans then place in the oven for about 18 minutes. Check to see if it is cooked, using a skewer.
      If using a loaf pan, keep the same temperature, and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hr 10 minutes. Again, check for doneness.
    6. Allow the cakes to rest for 2 minutes in their pans, then remove from the pans and place UPSIDE DOWN on a cooling rack. This will help to keep them level when you come to sandwich them together. Allow to COMPLETELY cool before frosting.
    7. Whilst the cake is cooling, make the frosting as follows:
    8. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. This will take around 3 minutes.
    9. Add the cream cheese and coffee mixture and beat until smooth.
      At this point, taste the frosting for sweetness. If you want more, just add some more sugar, half a tablespoon at a time until it is to your liking.
      NOTE: If your cake is still warm, refrigerate the frosting until you are ready to use.
    10. At this point, if your cake has cooled, place one cake on a serving plate, frost the top then place the other cake on top of the frosting.
    11. Frost the top and the sides if you wish to. Then decorate with a few whole walnuts or other decorations of your choice.
      You can simply spread the frosting or use a piping bag if you would like a pretty pattern. You choose!
    12. You can refrigerate the cake until ready or serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 621Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 134mgSodium: 477mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 2gSugar: 32gProtein: 9g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate

If you love baking, try out this delicious Blueberry & Lemon Crumble Cake. It's a really easy recipe and you can serve these alongside an Afternoon Tea with your Coffee Walnut Cake.

English Afternoon Tea Ideas

Here's a selection of delicious recipes you can make for an English Afternoon Tea

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