Delicious fluffy vegan coffee walnut cake with eggless espresso brown sugar Swiss meringue buttercream and crunchy candied walnuts. Perfect for birthdays, other special occasions, or simply served with a cup of coffee.
For accuracy, I highly recommend measuring your ingredients in grams using a digital kitchen scale.
Prepare: Preheat your oven to 160°C/320°F fan (180°C/356°F conventional). Line the base of two cake tins with a circle of parchment paper and liberally grease the sides with oil or vegan butter.
Mix dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the finely chopped walnuts, flour, soft brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
Mix wet ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the espresso, vegan buttermilk, olive oil, and vanilla extract.
Make the batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until there are no visible pockets of flour. Be careful not to over-mix.
Bake: Divide the batter between the prepared cake tins and bake for 35-45 mins. Check the cakes are done by inserting a knife or toothpick into it, which should come out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes before carefully transferring them out onto a cooling rack. Allow them to fully cool before transferring them to the fridge in an airtight container until ready to use.
Candied Walnuts: Add walnuts, sugar, and butter or oil to a pan on gently cook for 5-7 minutes, tossing constantly. Once the sugar has melted and the walnuts are fragrant, remove from the heat and transfer to a sheet of parchment to cool. Reserve 16 walnut halves for the topping, and chop the rest for the filling and topping.
Assembly: With an offset spatula, smooth around ⅓ of the frosting on top of the first cake layer, followed by half of the chopped candied walnuts. Top with the next cake layer and coat the sides and top of the cake with another ⅓ of the frosting.
Lastly, pipe the remaining ⅓ of the frosting on top of the cake and top with the candied walnut halves. Sprinkle the remaining chopped walnuts on top of the cake.
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Remove from the fridge about an hour before serving to allow the cake and frosting to soften a little. This cake tastes best when served fresh. You can however freeze any leftover cake in an airtight container to serve another time.
Notes
Soft Brown Sugar: I use light muscovado.
Espresso: Swap your regular espresso for decaf if preferred.