Coffee and Walnut Cake (Camp Coffee)

The British teashop cake: two light coffee sponges sandwiched and topped with coffee buttercream and walnuts. This is the version printed by Camp, the Glasgow coffee and chicory essence that has flavoured coffee cakes in Britain for more than a century, with 2 tablespoons of Camp in the sponge and 2 in the icing. The essence gives the colour and a roasted, slightly bitter edge that offsets a lot of sugar.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Camp Coffee page and is adapted from the maker’s recipe.

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 225 g (1 cup, 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 225 g (1 cup packed) light muscovado or light brown sugar
• 4 medium eggs (US large), at room temperature
• 225 g (1¾ cups) self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons Camp coffee essence
• 50 g (½ cup) walnuts, chopped

For the buttercream

• 175 g (¾ cup, 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 350 g (about 3 cups) icing (powdered) sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons Camp coffee essence
• 12 to 16 walnut halves, to decorate

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F; 160 °C fan). Butter two 20 cm (8 inch) round sandwich tins and line the bases with parchment.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoon of the flour with the last if it starts to curdle.
3. Sift in the flour and baking powder, add the Camp and fold together, then fold in the chopped walnuts. Divide between the tins and level the tops.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until risen, golden and springy, and a skewer comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in the tins, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
5. For the buttercream, beat the butter until soft, then beat in the icing sugar a little at a time and finally the Camp, until smooth and fluffy.
6. Sandwich the cakes with half the buttercream, spread the rest over the top and decorate with walnut halves.

Notes

Where this recipe came from Adapted from Camp’s “Back of the Bottle Coffee & Walnut Cake” on campcoffee.co.uk: 225 g each of butter, light muscovado and self-raising flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 4 medium eggs, 2 tablespoons Camp and 50 g walnuts; icing of 175 g butter, 350 g icing sugar and 2 tablespoons Camp; two 20 cm tins at 180 °C for 25 to 30 minutes. The US measures and the method detail are this kitchen’s. No self-raising flour? Use 225 g (1¾ cups) plain all-purpose flour with 2½ teaspoons baking powder in total. No Camp? Use 2 teaspoons instant espresso dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water, plus 1 teaspoon sugar, in each of the sponge and the icing. The taste is more coffee and less chicory. The photo A home-made coffee and walnut sponge from Norfolk, England, not this recipe’s batch.