Coffee & Walnut Cake (gluten free & dairy free)
My gluten and dairy free coffee and walnut cake combines a tasty coffee flavoured sponge with coffee buttercream and walnuts. It’s perfect served with a cup of tea or coffee as an afternoon treat. If you do make this recipe I’d love to see, don’t forget to tag me in your photos over on social media.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which butter do you use for the the buttercream?
I use the Stork ‘perfect for baking’ 250g gold packet butter which is naturally dairy free and available in most major UK supermarkets. If you can’t get hold of this butter, it’s always best to use a hard dairy free butter block instead of a soft spread for a dairy free buttercream as soft spreads can sometimes cause the mixture to curdle.
How long will the cake last?
My coffee and walnut cake will last in airtight container for up to 4 days however is always best on the day you make it.
Which flour do you use for the cake?
For this recipe, and the majority of my bakes, I use the FREEE Gluten Free Self Raising Flour which works really well in gluten free baking.
Which cake tins do you use for this recipe?
For this recipe I use 2 20cm round springform cake tins.
Coffee & Walnut Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 250 g dairy free butter
- 250 g caster sugar
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 80 ml strong black coffee (cooled)
- 280 g gluten free self raising flour
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 100 g walnuts (finely chopped)
For the buttercream
- 200 g dairy free butter block
- 400 g icing sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee mixed with 1 tablespoon water (cooled)
- Walnuts (to decorate)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and line 2 20cm round loose bottom cake tins.
- Make the cake by whisking butter and caster sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to whisk until combined. Add the vanilla extract and cooled coffee and whisk again.
- Fold in the self-raising flour, xanthan gum and baking powder. Fold in the finely chopped walnuts.
- Divide the mixture between the 2 lined baking tins and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes (checking after 25), until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely.
- Make the buttercream by beating butter with an electric whisk until soft. Gradually add icing sugar, continuing to beat for up to 5 minutes until combined and creamy. Add the cooled coffee and whisk to combine.
- Sandwich the cakes together with a layer of buttercream. Spread a layer of buttercream on top of the cake and decorate with the walnut halves.
I absolutely love seeing what you’ve created, so if you do make this recipe (or any other recipe from my website) don’t forget to tag me over on my social media pages @glutenfreealice and use the hashtag #glutenfreealice
Can you make this without eggs, ie egg substitute of some kind. I am allergic to eggs and a lot of your recipes use eggs unfotunately
Unfortunately I don’t think this particular recipe would work with an egg substitute.
Absolutely perfect cake. I used Camp coffee but otherwise followed your recipe exactly. Couldn’t believe it was gluten free, didn’t crumble!
Thank you.
Hi Linda,
So glad you enjoyed the cake! It’s one of my favourites!
Alice
Hi there! Please can you let me know what you mean by ‘strong black coffee’? Do you mean espresso or how many tsp of instant coffee powder to the 80ml hot water?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it out 😀
Hi,
Yes an expresso would be fine or just a large heaped teaspoon of coffee in the 80ml of hot water 🙂
Hello I’m wondering if brown sugar would work as well as caster, only I find it provides a nice rich flavor.
Hi Frankie, Yes sure I’m sure it would work just as well 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Should there be a lower temp for fan ovens? Also, FREEE self-raising flour already contains xanthan gum and a raising agent – I’m wondering why it is doubled in this recipe? Thanks!
Hi Jane, For a fan oven I would generally lower the temp by 20C. I add a little extra xanthan gum to this recipe to stop the cake crumbling too much, but as there is already some in the FREEE self raising flour this isn’t essential. Thanks, Alice