The BEST traditional Coffee and Walnut Cake made with a moist, light, coffee-intense gluten free sponge. Always a favourite tea-time treat or decadent celebration cake. Optional dairy free.
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Gluten free Coffee and Walnut Cake… for a chic tea time or decadent celebration
There’s something very special about Coffee and Walnut Cake… whether gluten free or not. Its familiarity places it in the bracket of a go-to coffee shop cake, but the specific marriage of earthy walnut with deep dark coffee make it very grown up and quite chic! For the Coeliacs amongst us, it’s an essential gluten free recipe in the cake-armoury.
The first time I made a gluten free version was when we celebrated Grandad’s birthday back in 2016. I always think birthdays are a great excuse for a bake-up. And coffee and walnut cake seemed a perfect alternative to the usual chocolate offering and a fitting tribute to reaching 80-something.
It went down extremely well… This cake is addictively delicious. With an amazing rich colour and heady coffee aroma, it screams to be eaten. And trust me, it doesn’t disappoint. The tantalising pleasure hits the taste-buds with each and every bite.
How to make sure yours is the BEST Coffee and Walnut Cake
Now… I’m going to claim to know a thing or two about coffee and walnut cake. Being upwards of half a century and having eaten this British favourite for most of that time, I think I can tell the good from the bad. But what makes the BEST Coffee and Walnut cake?
The Coffee… An essential ingredient to stand out from the crowd
Coffee and walnut cake should first and foremost be undeniably intense with coffee. A ‘hint’ of the stuff just doesn’t cut it. So what’s the best way to achieve the depth and concentration needed to make your cake stand out from the crowd?
Always use instant Espresso Powder. Seriously. The flavour is divinely vivid and distinctly superior to cakes made with bog-standard instant coffee powder or diluted cold coffee. I use Nescafe Azera Instant Coffee Powder because it’s strong, pungent, fine and dissolves easily. Perfect for baking.
It’s easy to find espresso powder in the supermarket, but be sure to buy the fine instant powder and not the granules or non-instant stuff. Grouts in your cake will ruin your efforts!
And make sure you use it in the frosting as well as the sponge… It makes all the difference. For an extra-amazing taste-buzz, you can even dust a little on the top of the finished cake!
The Walnuts… Perfect intensity with a bitter kick
Let’s be clear! This is not just coffee cake… It’s Coffee and Walnut Cake… So the walnuts are just as important as the coffee right? Which means squeezing every last shard of flavour from each and every nut.
The easiest way to do this is to toast them! Toasting your nuts will concentrate the flavour to give you twice as much tangy walnutty oomph. To get the best and freshest flavour, home-toast in the oven, being careful to turn and not burn, and use them without delay. We want them moist and succulent!
Grind them fresh to the consistency of coarse sand and they will give an even flavour and nutty texture which becomes an essential part of the sponge… adding walnut to the cake and moistness to the bake.
Okay…. I’m waxing a little lyrical now… I guess what I’m trying to say is the nuts matter!
Texture is everything! Coffee and Walnut Cake should be moist, soft, rich and never crumbly
When we make cakes at GFHQ, texture is everything. If the texture isn’t as good or better than glutenous equivalents, then it’s a fail. I get so frustrated when I see people accepting less just because they are Coeliac or gluten free. NEVER accept less. Never!
This de-glutened cake wins on texture as well as flavour. The concentration of home-toasted, tangy ground walnuts and the added splash of yoghurt give both the perfect moist crumb and structure. This is a coffee and walnut cake that would fool the hardiest of gluten-eaters.
This Recipe is a Keeper!
So… another resoundingly successful bake in the GF household. This recipe for gluten free Coffee and Walnut Cake is definitely a keeper. Once you have tried it, I am certain it will be one you make often. It’s so good, we now have a recipe for Coffee Walnut Cupcakes too.
The first time I made it back in 2016, my daughter was just 11. I was a little concerned she may baulk at the break from chocolate tradition for a birthday cake and complain about the move towards more mature and potentially less child-friendly constituents. I needn’t have worried. She took quite a liking to the dark stuff and was seriously rattled when a large section of it disappeared home with the grandparents at the end of the day.
Miss GF still has a liking for coffee. Interestingly, she blames it on that very cake. Maybe I should hang my parental head in shame…
Made gluten free Coffee and Walnut Cake?
I share this wonderful cake with my love. I hope you enjoy it every ounce as much as we do. If you make it, let me know! I would love to hear from you. There are lots of ways to get in touch. Comment below, send a Contact Form or find me at Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. And if you Love this recipe, don’t forget to star-rate!
Other Great Layer Cakes to Celebrate on Gluten Free Alchemist
- Orange Cake
- Chocolate Kiss Cake
- Victoria Sponge Cake
- Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Funfetti Cake
- Mocha Cake
- Layered Banoffee Cake
- Vanilla Cake
- Banana Layer Cake with Roasted Bananas and Chocolate
- Rich Mocha Easter Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake with Eton Mess Topping
- Chocolate Golden Egg Cake
- Coconut and Lime Cake with Lime Frosting
- Fudgy Chocolate Berry Cake with Ganache
- Or explore our Gluten Free Big Cakes Index!
For everything else, we now have an on-line Recipe Book to inspire you. Why not take a look?
Gluten Free Coffee and Walnut Cake
Key equipment
- Oven
- two 20 cm/8 inch round cake tins
- grinder/food processor
- fork
- kettle
- cake spatula
Ingredients
Sponge
- 75 g walnut halves/pieces – toasted and ground toasted weight
- 200 g plain GF flour blend eg. Gluten Free Alchemist Mix A see NOTES
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 2½ tsp GF baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 225 g unsalted butter or dairy free alternative softened
- 225 g soft light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs (UK large)
- 4 to 5 tsp instant espresso coffee powder
- 4 to 5 tbsp plain yoghurt (dairy or dairy free)
Coffee Butter Icing/Frosting
- 1 tbsp instant espresso coffee powder
- 1 tbsp boiling water
- 220 g unsalted butter (or dairy free alternative) softened
- 440 g icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
- pinch fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp (approx) milk for consistency only DF if needed
Decoration
- 12 halves walnuts – toasted – additional for decoration
- handful chocolate-espresso beans optional
- pinch instant espresso powder optional
Instructions
Sponge
- Toast all the walnuts (if not already toasted), including the halves reserved for decoration by spreading on a baking sheet and placing in a pre-heated oven at 190 C/375 F/Gas 5 for about 10 minutes, turning a couple of times during the process to make sure they are evenly toasted. Leave to cool.
- Once cool, remove 12 good-shaped half walnuts and set aside for later decoration.
- Grind the remaining walnuts in a grinder/food processor so that they have the texture of coarse sand (watch closely to make sure they do not grind too far and end up as a paste)
- Weigh and whisk together the ground walnuts (75g ground weight), flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt, making sure all lumps are broken down. TIP : weigh into an airtight container and shake vigorously to blend. Set aside.
- Base line two 20 cm/8 inch baking tins with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4.
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.
- Break the eggs into a small bowl and lightly beat with a fork to combine. Gradually add to the butter mixture a little at a time, beating thoroughly between each addition.
- Add the espresso powder and yoghurt and beat again until even in colour.
- Carefully fold in the dry ingredients until evenly combined (but be careful not to over-mix).
- Split the cake batter equally between the two tins and spread to the edges, making sure the top is smooth and level.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden, the top springs back to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Butter Icing/Frosting
- Slowly mix together the espresso powder and boiling water in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- Beat the butter until soft and pale.
- Gradually add the icing sugar (a little at a time), espresso mixture and the salt. The frosting should be well blended and a smooth spreadable consistency. Add a little milk if the consistency needs to be loosened.
- Use some of the frosting to sandwich the sponges together and then spread the rest on the top and sides of the sandwiched cake as you wish. Smooth with a cake spatula.
- Decorate with the reserved toasted walnut halves, the chocolate-espresso beans and a light sprinkling of instant espresso powder.
- Store in an airtight cake tin/carrier at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
gluten free Coffee and Walnut Cake shared with :
- Full Plate Thursday #478 with Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
- Creative Muster #378 with Fluster Buster and Adoring Creations
- What’s for Dinner #246 with The Lazy Gastronome
- Cook Blog Share with Recipes Made Easy
- Fiesta Friday #322 with Angie and The Not So Creative Cook
Hello.
I would like to make this but would prefer to make it in a 2lb loaf tin. Can you guide me as to temperature and time please ?
Hi Fiona
Apologies for the delay in replying… I didn’t realise it was so long since I’d checked my comments.
I’ve never made the cake in a two pound loaf tin, but it should work fine.
I would probably bake at the same temperature, but bake for longer… Cover with foil, if it looks as though it is browning too quickly. Probably 45 to 50 minutes and then do a skewer check. But you’ll have to use a bit of baker’s judgement xx
Hi,
Can this cake be made ahead and frozen?
Yes. The Sponge can be made ahead and frozen and then decorated before serving.
Wrap well and make sure there is a piece of non-stick baking paper between layers to prevent them sticking together in the freezer.
Freeze as soon as cold after baking and if possible, give time to allow to ‘mature’ for a day after bringing out of the freezer. The nuts help to keep the cake moist and at room temperature in an airtight container, or still wrapped, should mature and moisten well. If you are decorating with a complete coating of frosting (as in the pictures), then this will act as a ‘wrapping’, but still store in an airtight container for the best maturation.
I hope that makes sense and helps. Let me know if not.
Kate x
Yes. It can be made ahead and frozen.
Hi Kate,
Thank you for sharing your Blend A.
I’ve had a Coffee and Walnut cake in my head for ages! Plus I wanted to test out a gluten free recipe to have one up my sleeve for when the situation called.
Anyway, I went to the trouble of getting all the ingredients to make up your Blend and I am so glad I did! Thank you very much. Followed the cake recipe precisely and can honestly say, “Great recipe, great cake!” I will admit to using a coffee cream filling and Italian Meringue coffee flavoured Buttercream icing for the decoration.
Thanks again for sharing!
Kind regards
Lorie
Thank you so much for the feedback Lorie. I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake. It’s one of my favourites and one of the most popular recipes on the blog too.
Coffee cream filling and Italian Meringue buttercream sound perfect ‘adulterations’!! It’s a while since I made an Italian Meringue buttercream… but they are so delicious xx
Thank you for the recipe. This turned out perfectly, even though I had to substitute a third of the walnut with pre-packaged ground almonds. I couldn’t taste the almond at all and the cake was still really walnutty. Absolutely delicious. I’ll definitely make it again and am considering adapting the recipe for a chocolate and hazelnut cake.
Thanks for letting me know Rosie. That’s fantastic to hear. I’m really pleased that it worked well for you. x
Hi there Kate… I hope all is well. The cake looks amazing and I cannot wait to make this tomorrow for my hub’s birthday. However, I do not have espresso powder, instead I have Nepresso coffee pods. Can I make it with very little water and add it into the batter?
Thank you.
Hi Jo.
Have you got any other instant coffee powder?
Because this cake has no other specific liquid in it, the difficulty with adding it, even in coffee form , is that you will affect the balance and the batter may become too runny.
If you don’t have any other instant powder, then I would suggest making some coffee with as little liquid as you possibly can and maybe using a little less yoghurt. You need to try and balance the liquid ratio without losing the texture and moisture that is brought from the yoghurt.
I guess what I’m saying is your best option is to sub with another instant coffee powder. If you can’t use the absolute minimum of liquid possible. (sorry to sound a bit dappy, but I have no idea how espresso pods work…)
But I hope that helps. xx
Hi Kate,
Thank you for your prompt reply and detailed explanation on it. I wouldn’t want to screw up my first try on this beautiful recipe, therefore i ll try to get my hands on some instant coffee powder.
Hope you found some Jo x
We are featuring your awesome post at Full Plate Thursday,479 this week! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us and we sure hope you have a great week!
Miz Helen
Wow. Thank you so much x
This is a beautiful cake and looks delicious. I just love the flavors of your cake, may I please have a slice? Thanks so much for sharing your awesome talent with us at Full Plate Thursday,and come back to see us soon!
Stay Healthy!
Miz Helen
Thank You Helen. I’d love to send you a piece, but I fear it may not last the journey! If the postman gets a sniff of what’s in there, I suspect it would be quickly classified as ‘missing’! xx
Kate!!! This cake looks absolutely gorgeous!! I love anything coffee! Would you give me half of this, please? 😀 Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday party!
Thank you! I confess I am a bit of a coffee lover too… And this cake is definitely one of my favourites x
I love a good coffee and walnut cake and the texture of the crumb on this cake looks absolutely perfect. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare.
Me too Jacqui. And thank you for your lovely comment. Always good to share the best recipes x
This sounds really unique and delicious!! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party – stay safe and healthy.
Thank you Helen. You too x
This is such a delicious-looking cake. I love this flavour combination and make coffee and walnut cake quite often. I’ve never tried espresso powder but can imagine it would provide that extra flavour hit of coffee. Yum!
Thanks Rosemary. I would absolutely recommend Espresso powder. It punches quite a coffee kick! x
Boha, klingt mega lecker und sieht auch noch super lecker aus, wer da widerstehen kann, ist selber schuld, um so mehr bleibt für mich. Danke für die Köstlichkeit!
Grüße,
Jesse-Gabriel
Thank you Jesse x
Hi, this cake looks lovely! I’m due to make a gf coffee and walnut cake for the 65th wedding anniversary and I’m looking for a good recipe. Can I please ask two questions. Firstly, it says this recipe will make 1 x 8inch, did you mean the ingredients amounts given are for one layer of cake only? Shall I double up if I wanted to make 2 layers?
Also, can I skip xanthan gum when making this cake? Will it work without? I’m using Dove’s Farm gluten free plain white flour in my gf bakes and never used xanthan gum in the other bakes and the cakes came out lovely but not sure if it can be left out in this recipe?
Thank you so much.
Best,
Maria
Hi Maria
Thanks for the contact.
This is one of my absolute favourite cakes!
The recipe makes a generous 8 inch sandwich cake… so that’s enough mixture for BOTH (2) LAYERS!
If your flour blend already has xanthan gum in it, then absolutely leave it out! I’ve never made the cake with Doves as I mix my own flours, but as Doves has xanthan in it already, you should be good to go without the xanthan.
Hope that helps and let me know how it goes xx
Thank you so much!
I must say the Doves flour hasn’t got the xanthan gum in. It is a blend of rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat. I make a carrot cake in a gluten free version with this flour and never had to use xanthan gum in it and it comes out beautifully so perhaps I try your coffee and walnut recipe without it too and see how it goes. I shall share my outcome with you 🙂
Thank you x
You’re welcome Maria. Enjoy! And let me know how it goes x
I made half this the other day and it is lovely. Later in the day, I found the butter for it in the microwave where I had put it in there to soften slightly. Anyway, I also misread your method and did it by the 'all in one' method. Despite that and no butter, it was still fabulous!
Fantastic DC. So pleased you enjoyed it and that it worked even with misreading. Fancy losing the butter in the microwave!
Thanks for letting me know how you got on x
I must say when I go out for a cuppa my favourite cake is coffee and walnut. It is an amazing combination indeed and you have made it to perfection!!
Perfectly risen and it looks lovely 🙂
Thank you Alida for your lovely comment!
This looks so gorgeous, Kate. I love how you've decorated it – especially the bit about adding extra instant espresso powder on top – genius! Congratulations on joining the wonderful world of FB. I have liked you 🙂 I've been on FB as a normal person for years, but I'm still figuring out how to make my Easy Peasy Foodie Facebook page work. It seems much harder to get many likes/comments/shares there. Occasionally I can manage to get a nice little conversation going but it's rare. Will let you know if I discover the magic formula 🙂 Eb x
Thank you Eb. The sprinkle of espresso powder on the top made a fab difference to the coffee-intensity!
Thank you too for connecting with my FB page….It does seem to be a bit of a random forum from a blog-working perspective, but if you make any headway with it, do let me know what I am supposed to have a clue about! If I get any wisdom, I will be sure to share too…
What a fantastic version of a classic favourite, it looks stunning!
Thanks for submitting to Bake Of The Week, your recipe has been featured in the round up now live at 1st March Bake of the Week
Thank you Sarah. It was as good as any gluten-based version I can remember!
This looks delicious. I often choose coffee and walnut cake so that I don't have to share it with the kids! Thanks for linking up with #Cookblogshare this week
Thanks Mandy… you're welcome.
That's pretty sneaky…… But a great idea for keeping cake to yourself. x
The cake looks truly gorgeous and fit for a celebration. I am surprised your daughter enjoys coffee – it was never something for kids in my childhood but then again my parents were really into their tea when I was a kid. Nowadays my parents love their coffees too like a lot of people so I am sure this would be popular though I would have to give it a miss because coffee has never agreed with me.
Thank you Johanna. I was very surprised when Miss GF decided she liked coffee too! I think the kids see it as a 'grown up' thing to drink. I was really reluctant to let her have it initially, but now we make sure she only has an occasional cup and early in the day!
Oh my gosh! Look at the rise on that! You are a gluten-free witch (in a good way…I say that because I have Harry Potter on in the background with a poorly Pickle at home for the day!). You seriously impress me with your bakes. Well done. And I'm heading to FB now to 'like' you and share this.x
Ooohhhh…. a witch! Thanks Vicki! I'll take that as a compliment (of sorts)….
A poorly pickle is not good…… I hope he feels better soon….. he's been out of sorts for a few days now!
Thanks for the FB plug….. really appreciate it! xx
wow this looks delicious! Coffee and walnut is my nans absolute favourite so I might have to do this for her birthday! Thanks so much for linking up to #YumTum this week and welcome 🙂 as you are the last linker you might not get a second comment so I have stumbled your page as well 🙂 hope to see you next week xx
Thank you Charlotte. Sounds like a perfect birthday cake plan! Glad to have found the #YumTum linky x!
If this is anywhere near as great as your chocolate cake, it will definitely be a keeper as well.
Awww… thanks Dc. I am now wondering which one of my (many) chocolate cakes…..?
If you like coffee and walnut cake, this one's definitely a keeper!
Looks great – I am always so satisfied when the layers of sponge are equal – yours is perfect!
Ha ha….Thanks CC. Such a perfectionist! Pleased it meets your exacting standards…..