Date, Walnut & Coffee Cake
Classic, Timeless, Yummy Goodness!
Today i'm bringing to you, my recipe of the perfect gourmet cake for any special occasion. I have made this for one of my last few gatherings with my lovely friends in Bristol who I call my Bristol family. The gathering is tomorrow and I made the cake a day in advance just so that I don't do it in a hurry tomorrow.. Anyway, here's a picture of all them crazy people at one of our parties...!
Coming back to my recipe... This is the most luxurious, aromatic and comforting cake ever with the sweetness of dates, crunch of walnuts and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee! Mouth watering already? Read on!
Ingredients
For the Cake
1. 300 g all purpose flour
2. 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3. 300 g unsalted or slightly salter butter, softened
4. 200 g granulated sugar
5. 4 eggs
6. 4 tablespoons of strong black coffee
7. 30 ml milk
8. 100 g dates dee-seeded and made into a paste
9. Vanilla essence
For the filling and buttercream topping
1. 200 g unsalted or slightly salted butter, softened
2. 350 g icing sugar sifted
3. 3 teaspoons of strong black coffee
4. a handful of chopped walnuts for the filling
5. 10 walnuts for decorating
6. some of the date paste mixed in water to drizzle on the sponge for moistness.
7. Vanilla essence
Procedure
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy in texture, using an electric whisk or a manual whisk. Add the eggs, one by one, adding a tablespoon of flour with each egg and beating it all thoroughly. Now stir in the vanilla essence, date paste and the coffee and fold in the remaining flour gently with a spoon. Add as much milk is needed to make the mixture come to a dropping consistency.
Grease your baking tin and add half the mixture spreading it evenly with your finger/ back of a spatula. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes till the top turns lightly brown and a knife comes out clean when pierced into the cake. Remove the cake and let it cool for 10-15 minutes before you turn it out on a cooling wire rack.
Repeat the process for the second half of the batter. This way, you will have 2 cakes which will be the two layers in the middle of which we shall add our filling.
For the buttercream, beat the butter adding a little icing sugar every now and then. Add the coffee and the vanilla essence and keep beating until the mixture is fluffy and creamy.
Drizzle the date water in both the cakes so that they are lightly moist. Now spread the buttercream onto one of the cooled cakes, add crushed walnuts on the buttercream layer and sandwich together with the second cake. Now you have a two layered cake. Spread the remaining buttercream on the top and sides of the cake and decorate it as per your choice with a piping bag and whole walnuts. You can also lightly dust the cake with a little cocoa powder or instant drinking chocolate powder if you're a fan of chocolate. This is optional.. And there you go! Your masterpiece is ready!
Things I learned with this experience: If you're making the cake a day before it is to be consumed, don't do what I did. Make the sponge and refrigerate it. Don't put the icing and refrigerate it as the sponge will dry up and lose its softness. Take the sponge out on the day of consumption and after it comes to room temperature, drizzle sugar water or Coca Cola to moisten it before you decorate it with icing. This way, your cake will remain soft and moist and will not have the dryness that comes with refrigeration.
This is just the right cake to make your guests feel extra special and set them praising your hospitality for weeks. Let me say no more.. Go, try this recipe and you'll know what I mean ;) Dont forget to comment on this post and let me know how you liked my recipe and also which recipe you'd like me to cover for you next. Till then, keep baking, cause it's a great thing to do!
Thanks for reading, amigos!
Love,
SaloFalo
