COFFEE AND WALNUT SPONGE CAKE

On the day I arrived to Auckland, my sister S has made this Coffee & Walnut Sponge Cake to welcome me.  

Before I could settle down to look around the surrounding,  she immediately slice a piece for me eventhough I wasn't ready upto eat anything as I was really tired and didn't sleep well through the journey flight.  Nevertheless instead of disappointing her effort of baking this cake for me, one mouthful of it could make you go for another slice!  This cake is indeed so delicious.......and in fact my sister has made this for the third time.

So, yesterday she bake this cake again!  This cake is so easy to make, all the ingredients dump into a bowl, and just whisk till combined.  That's it!  Well, you won't be disappoint with recipe from Delia's

COFFEE AND WALNUT SPONGE CAKE
Recipe sourced from Delia Online

Ingredients
165g  self-raising flour, sifted
1 ½ tsp baking powder
165g margarine (whipped vegetable fat), at room temperature
165g  golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 ½ tbsp instant espresso dissolved in 1 1/2 tbsp of boiling water
75g finely chopped walnuts

For the filling and topping
500ml whipping cream
1 tbsp instant espresso powder

1 tbsp hot water
3-4 tbsp icing sugar (or to your sweetness)
10 walnut halves

Method

Preheat oven to 170Celcius.  

Grease two 8" round baking pans. 

Start off by sifting the flour and baking powder into a roomy mixing bowl, holding the sieve quite high to give the flour a good airing as it goes down, then add the butter, eggs, caster sugar and coffee powder.

Now, using an electric hand whisk, mix to a smooth, creamy consistency for about 1 minute. After that take a tablespoon and fold the chopped nuts into the mixture.

Next divide the mixture between the two prepared tins, level off using the back of a tablespoon and bake near the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes. The sponges are cooked when you press lightly with your little finger and the centre springs back.

Remove them from the oven and after about 30 seconds loosen the edges by sliding a palette knife all round then turn them out onto a wire cooling tray. Now carefully peel back the lining by gently pulling it back.

Then lightly place the other cooling tray on top and just flip them both over so that the tops are facing upwards (this is to prevent them sticking to the cooling tray).

While the cakes are cooling, make up the filling: in a small bowl, dissolves the instant coffee powder with the 1 tbsp hot water.  In another medium bowl, combine the whipping cream, icing sugar, coffee and whisk till creamy.

When the cakes are cold, spread half the filling over one, sandwich them together, then spread the rest over the top using a palette knife and making a swirling pattern. 

To decorate the topping, pipe swirl with the cream and top with whole walnut.

Shave some chocolate all over. 

(Do hop over to Delia's website as the ingredients we are baking here are measuring adjusted to  1 ½ recipe and if you prefer your cake to be more higher, do measure to 2 recipes instead.)

I loves this cake as this cake is soft with coffee flavour and with crunch from the bits of walnuts in the texture.  

 Two thumbs up to Sister S !