Walnut Expresso Cake #CakeSliceBakers

The Walnut Espresso Cake is a quick-to-make dessert whose ingredients are generally ones that bakers have on hand. The cake is a butter cake flavored with espresso powder while the frosting is an espresso-flavored buttercream. The only walnuts are those used in between the layers and on top of the cake. The author suggests either making it as a two layer cake using 8-inch springform pans or as one layer using a 10-inch springform pan. As I only own the 10-inch springform, I opted for the single layer. 

The cake is described in the cookbook at good with the icing really being the star of the show. Every member of my family agreed with this description. The cake's coffee flavor was definitely muted. I used espresso powder instead of coffee extract (the recipe says either will work). We were fine with that, but if you're looking for a stronger coffee flavor, you might want to try the extract or add more of the espresso powder.


The frosting is a buttercream with dark rum used in place of vanilla and espresso in place of heavy cream. The frosting was amazing! My daughter said it reminded her of tiramisu.  This is again a place where you could up the coffee flavor by making your espresso more intense.



The recipe calls for topping with walnut halves. I had chopped walnuts in my freezer so used that to top off the cake. I stored the leftovers in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap, and it held up well. I do think if you can make it as a layer cake, you will enjoy it more as I found myself creating layers with each bite.




Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.




It is a new year and a new book - Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes - and our choices for June 2023 were ~

Walnut Espresso Cake

Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Savory Loaf

Boozy Peaches and Mascarpone Layer Cake

Comments

  1. A Day in the Life on the FarmJune 20, 2023 at 4:03 AM

    Popular cake this time. I like the chopped walnuts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SusanBJune 20, 2023 at 10:44 AM

    Looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  3. KarenJune 20, 2023 at 1:27 PM

    Chopped walnuts are so much easier to find. Next time, I'm going with them. Love your cake with that thick layer of frosting.

    ReplyDelete

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