Walnut and Espresso Cake

It's my older brother's birthday tomorrow (yes that's correct, all three of us kids were born in July!) and I was in charge of baking a cake for our dinner tonight. Since he loves coffee cake I decided to make an Italian Walnut and Espresso Cake. It's quite a sweet cake and a little unusual to prepare as the cake mixture forms an almost bread like consistency until you mix the egg whites through. I started using my hands to mix it but I wouldn't recommend doing that as it didn't rise as much as I think it should have. If you love coffee then it's a nice one to try.

Walnut and Espresso Cake

Cake

• 1 cup raw caster sugar

• 4 eggs, separated, plus 1 extra eggwhite

• 130g walnuts, finely chopped

• 100g plain flour, sieved

• Pinch of salt

Candied walnuts

• 40g walnut halves

• 30g pure icing sugar, sieved

• 20ml walnut liqueur (I used Nocello)

Walnut cream

• 60g pure icing sugar, sieved

• 50g softened butter

• 30ml walnut liqueur (I used Nocello)

Espresso glaze

• 200g pure icing sugar, sieved

• 2 tbsp espresso, at room temperature

• 20ml walnut liqueur (I used Nocello)

Method

Cake - Preheat over to 180˚C. Whisk sugar and yolks in an electric mixer until pale and thick and mixture reaches a frosting consistency - about 4-5 mins. Transfer to a large bowl, stir through walnuts, flour, a little at a time to combine. This is when the mixture becomes quite stiff. Whisk eggwhite and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer until firm peaks form - about 2-3 mins. Stir half into the walnut mixture and fold through the remaining eggwhite. Spoon mixture into a 17cm x 22cm cake tin lined with baking paper. Bake until golden and firm to touch - about 20-25 mins. Cool in pan and turn out onto wire rack. Trim sides and halve horizontally.

Candied walnuts - Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Spread on a lined baking tray and bake until golden and caramalised - about 4-5 mins. Cool, then coarsely crumble.

Walnut cream - Beat ingredients in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy - about 6-8 mins. Spread bottom layer of cake with walnut cream, sandwich with top layer and set aside for 20-30mins until set.

Espresso glaze - Place icing sugar in a bowl and gradually add espresso and liqueur, mixing until smooth and combined. Gently spoon glaze over the top of the cake, easing icing to the edges so it drizzles down the sides. Scatter with the crumbled walnuts.