Coffee, Cardamom & Walnut Cake: Recipe from Knead Peace.

By Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich (HONEY AND CO)

Coffee and walnut is a classic British combo, and one of our favourite cakes –the kind you have in the caféat the Tate gallery or a National Trust property. Coffee with cardamom is a Middle Eastern staple. It made sense to me that the three flavours would work well together, and they do. Even though the spice adds a tiny exotic note, this cake could take pride in place in any cafeteria across the land.

Makes 1 Cake

Ingredients:

330g Icing sugar

120g Ground almonds

130g Self-raising flour a pinch of table salt

80g Walnuts, roasted, plus 50g extra to garnish (if you like)

2tsp Ground coffee (Turkish coffee the powder is best)

1⁄2tsp Ground cardamom

3 Eggs, whole 150g Egg whites (from about 4 eggs)

140g Burnt butter

2 tbsp Honey

60ml Water

50g Caster sugar

120g Butter, unsalted, in-room temperature

140g Icing sugar

400g Full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

30g Date molasses or maple syrup

Double espresso or 60ml strong coffee

Methods

1. Heat the oven to 190°C. Butter a 23cm (9 inch) cake tin with baking parchment.

2. Stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then add the eggs and egg whites and mix really well until smooth. Pour in the warm melted butter and stir carefully until fully combined. Transfer to the prepared tin and allow sitting for 10 minutes to rest the batter a little, then bake for about 30–35 minutes until the cake is set.

3. While the cake is baking, bring the syrup ingredients to boil in a pan, then remove from the heat.

4. Once the cake comes out of the oven, brush it generously with half the syrup, reserving the remainder for later. Chill the cake (still in its tin) in the fridge for at least an hour (and up to 24 hours).

5. Put the butter and icing sugar in a mixer with a paddle attachment and cream together on a high speed until really light and fluffy. Mix in the cream cheese a little at a time, allowing each addition to combine and aerate before adding the next. Finally, mix in the date molasses or maple syrup together with the ground coffee. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to check the icing is well combined with no lumps.

6. Remove the cake from the tin, and place it on a serving platter and use a large serrated knife to cut it in half to create two layers. This can seem a little scary, but it is just a question of confidence. Use the knife to score around the sides of the cake at the midline to give you a guideline to follow. Holding the knife firmly in one hand, place the other hand flat on the top of the cake (to keep it steady) and use little sawing motions to cut through it, all the way to the other side.

7. Very gently slide the top layer onto your work surface or a flat tray. Brush the cut surface of the bottom layer with the remaining syrup, then cover with half the icing, spreading it all over, right up to the edges. Very carefully lift up the top layer of cake and slide it to sit on the iced bottom layer. Spread the rest of the icing over the top in little waves and garnish with walnuts (if using).

8. You will need to keep this cake in the fridge. It will be tasty for 2–3 days, but make sure to bring it back up to room temperature before eating for the best result.

Notes:

Burnt butter, or beurre noisette as it is called in French, is made by heating butter in a saucepan until the water boils off and the milk particles turn a dark golden colour and develop a lovely nutty flavour.

This is an extract from Knead Peace by Andrew Green

Click here to find out more about the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal of the Disasters Emergency Committee.

If you liked this Coffee, Cardamom & Walnut Cake recipe, check out the recipe to Melting Moments from Small Batch Cakes, by Edd Kimber.