Name: Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 175 g butter, softened; 175 g soft light brown sugar; 3 eggs, about 150 g; 175 g self-raising flour; 2 tbsp instant coffee; 2 tbsp hot water; 60 g walnuts, finely chopped; 125 g butter, for the buttercream; 250 g icing sugar; 1 tbsp instant coffee, for the buttercream; 1 tbsp hot water, for the buttercream; 12 walnut halves, about 30 g

Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes

Coffee-flavoured sponge cupcakes with chopped walnuts, topped with coffee buttercream and a walnut half.

40 min total Serves 12 servings Easy

Before You Start

Cool the coffee before adding.

Chop the nuts small.

If your oven runs hot, check at 17 minutes.

Cool the cakes before icing.

Making Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes

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Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and line a 12-hole tin with cases. Dissolve the 2 tbsp of coffee in the 2 tbsp of hot water and cool.
Beat the 175 g of butter and the brown sugar for 3 minutes until pale. Beat in the eggs with a spoonful of flour each, then fold in the remaining flour, cooled coffee and chopped walnuts.
Divide between the cases and bake for 20 minutes until springy. Cool on a rack.
Dissolve the 1 tbsp of coffee in the 1 tbsp of hot water and cool. Beat with the 125 g of butter and the icing sugar until fluffy.
Top each cake with buttercream and a walnut half.

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What's Going On Here

This is what to make in the first cold week, when a pot of tea and a cake in the afternoon feels like an event. Coffee and walnut is a classic British pairing, bitter against sweet.

Dissolve the instant coffee in a spoonful of hot water, and cool it before it goes in the mixture. Hot coffee would start cooking the eggs. Beat the butter and sugar until pale, add the eggs and flour in turns as for any sponge, then fold in the coffee and chopped walnuts. Chop the walnuts small. Large pieces sink and leave the cakes uneven.

Bake at 180°C / 355°F for 20 minutes until risen and springy. If your oven runs hot, check at 17 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Beat the buttercream with a little coffee until it holds a soft peak, pipe or spread it on top and finish each cake with a walnut half.

Storage and Reheating

Keeps in an airtight tin for 3 days.

Common Substitutions & Variations

No self-raising flour to hand? The common home substitute is the same weight of plain flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder for every 150 g, sifted together well; the rise may not be identical to a bought self-raising flour.

Good With

Tea
Coffee
Fresh pears
Warm milk