Coffee & Walnut Cake | Vegan (& Low Sugar Option)

Ahh rainy Sundays.. I can't help but love them. Sometimes its nice to end the week taking it slow and when it's raining it feels 100x more acceptable - so today I'm taking full advantage. The gorgeous smell of coffee is surrounding the house this morning and all the coffee and walnut cake is being devoured. Now time to spend this afternoon typing up this recipe and watching a good ol chick flick - I'm thinking Love, Rosie or Notting Hill.

So if you fancy getting up to a bit of baking this rainy weekend, why not try out this delicious vegan coffee and walnut cake?! This recipe can even be made lower in refined sugar (something I'm really trying to prioritise in my diet), but of course this is optional! I did finish this loaf off with buttercream icing as it makes it even tastier, however I don't know what kind of substitute you could use instead of icing sugar to make it lower in sugar. 

- COFFEE AND WALNUT CAKE - 

Makes: 1 loaf    Prep Time: 15 mins   Cook Time: 50 mins

You will need:

For the cake -

- 2 cups self raising flour

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1 cup caster sugar (could sub for NatVia Sweetener, my favourite sugar substitute)

- 2 flax eggs / egg replacer like Orgran Vegan Easy Egg

- 150 almond milk or other dairy free milk

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 70ml pure maple syrup

- 2 - 3 tbsp instant coffee (more of less deepening on how strong you want it)

- 1 cup vegan butter

- 3/4 cup walnuts, crushed

For the buttercream icing - 

- 1 cup vegan butter

- 2 cups icing sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- extra walnuts for topping, crushed

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 200C and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the self raising flour, baking powder, caster sugar and egg replacement. Stir well.

3. Add the vegan butter to a saucepan along with the almond milk. Stir them together on low heat until the butter has completely melted. Once melted, add the instant coffee, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir until the coffee has completely dissolved, before removing the saucepan from the heat.

4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir everything together well, either by hand or with a mixer, making sure there are no lumps in the mixture.

5. Once combined, chop up the walnuts into small chunks and fold them into the mixture.

6. Pour the mixture into the pre-lined loaf tin, spreading it out evenly. Place in the oven for 50 minutes, checking on it often.

7. Once you feel like it looks done, remove from the oven and check that it is completely cooked by poking through the middle of the cake with a skewer / knife. If it comes out clean then the cake is done. Though the cake will still feel really soft at this point, it will harden slightly as it cools, making it the perfect consistency. 

8. Once cooked, allow to cool for at least half an hour before icing.

9. To make the buttercream icing, cream together the butter and the icing sugar with a whisk until it becomes a light and fluffy consistency. Add vanilla for a little bit of flavour, before whisking again.

10. Once the buttercream is done, spoon it onto the top of the cake and flatten it out with a palette knife, spreading it all over. 

11. To finish, add some more crushed walnuts on top! 

What's your favourite cake flavour?

Love Always,

Shannon x