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Vegan coffee and walnut traybake cake with a slice cut out on a sheet of baking parchment on a wire rack with chocolate coffee beans and chopped walnuts.
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Vegan Coffee And Walnut Cake

Vegan coffee and walnut cake – this easy coffee and walnut traybake cake is deliciously soft and moist. Topped with a cloud of light and fluffy coffee buttercream this is the perfect cake for serving a crowd.
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Keyword cake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 15 people
Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Coffee Cake:

  • 200 g (½ + ⅓ cup) softened vegan block butter (I use Naturli vegan block)
  • 300 g (1 + ⅔ cup) light brown soft sugar
  • 200 g (½ + ⅓ cup) non-dairy yogurt (I used Greek style soy)
  • 200 ml (½ + ⅓ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 400 g (3 + ⅓ cups) self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 Tbsp instant espresso powder
  • 125 g (4.5 oz) roughly chopped walnuts

Coffee Buttercream:

  • 125 g (½ cup) softened vegan block butter (I use Naturli vegan block)
  • 50 g (¼ cup) vegetable shortening (I use Trex)
  • 2 Tbsp instant espresso powder
  • 2 tsp non-dairy milk
  • 215 g (2 cups) sifted icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • chopped walnuts for decorating

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a 30x23 cm/9x12 inch roasting tin or traybake tin and line it with baking parchment.
  • Whisk together the softened vegan block butter and light brown soft sugar with an electric mixer for a good few minutes until it is very light and fluffy.
  • Add the yogurt, milk, vanilla extract, self-raising flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and instant espresso powder.
  • Whisk gently until everything is well combined but take care not to over-mix the batter as that can make the cake tough.
  • Fold through the chopped walnuts then transfer the batter to the prepared tin, spread it level and bake for around 25-35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  • Leave the cake to cool in the tin then carefully lift it out using the baking parchment and place on a serving platter. (At this point you can also wrap and freeze it if you like).
  • To make the buttercream, whisk together the softened vegan block butter and vegetable shortening until they are well combined.
  • Mix together the instant espresso powder and milk to make a paste. Add the coffee paste to the butter mixture along with the sifted icing sugar and vanilla extract.
  • Whisk on a high speed for a good few minutes until the buttercream is very light and fluffy.
  • If the buttercream is too thick you can whisk in a little extra milk, ½ tsp at a time. And if it is too soft you can either whisk in more sifted icing sugar or pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up a bit.
  • Spread the buttercream over the top of the cake and decorate as you like with chopped walnuts, cacao nibs and chocolate coffee beans.

Notes

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.