Pipe Dream #148: To Not Nitpick My Baking So Much – Coffee & Walnut Traybake

She’s at it again. The Great British Bakeoff cookbook was calling. This cake jumped out at me when I first paged through, partly because walnuts are delish and partly because I thought it would be feasible to attempt making this for 200 people. My other option with walnuts was the Coffee & Walnut Battenburg, but if you’ve ever seen a battenburg, you can imagine my disinterest in the idea of making that for a crowd.

Even after I left school, though, I still thought it sounded good. And besides, what is a “traybake” even? I assume it is what we in the States call a “sheet cake.”

Overall, it was a pretty ok cake. I thought it was a little lacking in the moisture department, but everyone at work raved it, so it’s possible that, as with cookies, I have pretty specific tastes when it comes to moist-ocity/underbaking. Another aspect of its okay-ness: I made the icing a bit too thin. It worked out all right, but I would have preferred a more swirly type icing.

Thank you for listening to me about how I could have done things right. It is therapeutic for me.

L

Coffee and Walnut Traybake

Adapted from The Great British Bakeoff

225 grams butter, softened

225 grams light brown sugar

275 grams self-raising flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons instant coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water, cooled

75 grams chopped walnuts

For the icing

75 grams butter, softened

225 grams sifted powdered sugar

2 teaspoons milk or cream

2 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water, cooled

Walnut halves, broken roughly

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan)/ 160 degrees/gas mark 4. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan, and line the base with parchment. Grease the parchment.

Beat the butter in a mixing bowl until creamy. Add the sugar and beat well until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. Fold in the flour and coffee liquid. When combined, fold in the walnuts.

Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top of the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed.

Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Let cool 20 minutes on a wire rack before turning the cake out. Let cool completely.

To make the icing, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl. Add the warm melted butter, coffee and milk. Stir until smooth. My frosting was a bit too thin, so you may want to reduce the amount of milk you add. Let sit until it is a bit more firm, then swirl over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the walnut pieces, and leave until firm.

Keeps in an airtight container for 4 days.

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