Delicious coffee and walnut cupcakes. Perfect for coffee lovers and those who enjoy a nutty flavour in their desserts.
I don’t like coffee-flavoured food. And I don’t like nuts.
Well, I’m absolutely addicted to salted cashew nuts, but I only allow myself a bag at Christmas. I don’t really like healthier nuts. Which is terrible I know.
I do, however, love my own coffee cakes. And even my coffee and walnut cakes.
I keep the walnuts small, and the coffee fairly mild. So, each bite of cake is a bit nutty and has a delicious coffee flavour.
It’s good, and I recommend this easy coffee walnut cupcake recipe if you love coffee but have never been keen on coffee flavour foods. It might surprise you.
What Makes Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes Special?
I absolutely love these cupcakes with coffee and walnuts because:
- Coffee Walnut Cupcakes are delicious.
- It’s an easy recipe.
- I find chopping walnuts strangely soothing. It’s the texture!
- Coffee buttercream is wonderful.
- They are made with instant coffee for ease.
- Cupcakes make the perfect little treat.
Ingredients for Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes?
I always try to keep my cake recipes as simple as possible, in part to disguise the fact that actually, I’m not a very good baker! So, you don’t need many ingredients, just:
Margarine – You can use room-temperature butter.
Dark Brown Sugar – I love the rich flavour dark sugar gives coffee cakes, but you can swap to either light brown sugar, or caster sugar if that’s what you’ve got.
Eggs
Instant Coffee Granules
Walnuts
Self-Raising Flour – Use plain flour with a teaspoon of baking powder if you don’t have this.
What Kind of Walnuts Should You Use?
I use walnut pieces that you can pick up from the baking aisle in most big supermarkets. They are smaller, so need less chopping.
It doesn’t hugely matter though; you are going to be chopping them up fairly small anyway.
What Kind of Coffee Should You Use in Cupcakes?
I use regular instant coffee, mixed with just enough boiling water to dissolve it.
You can brew an espresso with a machine if you prefer, but you don’t need to.
Whatever coffee you use, just make sure you leave it to cool before pouring it into your coffee and walnut cake batter.
Can You Use Coffee Syrup?
I haven’t tried making walnut and coffee cupcakes with coffee syrup, but I can’t see why not. Just add a little at a time, depending on how strong you want the flavour to be.
Does Coffee and Walnut Cake Contain Caffeine?
Yes, these are coffee and walnut cupcakes with real coffee, so there is caffeine. But 2 teaspoons of instant coffee spread through 12-15 cakes means each cake has relatively little (more if you add the icing).
You could make these cakes and the coffee buttercream icing with decaf coffee instead.
How to Make Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes
You can get the full recipe in the card at the bottom of this post, but my tips for making coffee and walnut cupcakes are:
- Only use enough water to dissolve the coffee granules, to avoid adding too much liquid.
- Leave your coffee to cool before adding it to the coffee cake mix.
- Chop the walnuts as much as you can, so that they don’t sink, and the flavour is spread evenly, but don’t worry about it being uniform though, a few lumps won’t hurt.
- I chop my walnuts with a sharp knife.
- You can use a skewer to test that your cupcakes are cooked (it will come out clean) or you can give one a gentle press. It will be firm but still bounce back a little.
- Cool your cupcakes in the tin.
Decorating Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes
I decorate my coffee and walnut cupcakes with coffee buttercream, and a big bit of walnut on the top.
Coffee Buttercream Tips
Coffee buttercream is easy, and again, you can get the recipe below. But my top tips are:
- Cool the coffee, again this is really important.
- Use unsalted butter, not margarine.
- Let your butter come to room temperature before using it.
- Add the coffee a little bit at a time, until you have the right taste and texture. Don’t be tempted to pour it all in.
- I use a star tip and a piping bag
How Long Do Coffee and Walnut Cakes Keep?
Coffee and walnut cupcakes will keep in a covered tub, or cake stand for 3-4 days. You don’t need to keep them in the fridge unless your kitchen is particularly hot.
Can You Freeze Cupcakes?
Yes, but I don’t recommend freezing buttercream with them. It can go a bit gritty, and while it will come back to a smooth texture if you whisk in a little milk, you can’t do this if it’s already on your cake. So if you do want to freeze both, do it separately.
Place your cakes in an airtight tub, with a little greaseproof paper between them if you want to be able to take them out one at a time, and thaw in the fridge when you are ready for them.
Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Coffee and Walnut Sponge:
- 120 g Margarine (Or room-temperature butter)
- 120 g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 Medium Eggs
- 3 Teaspoons of Instant Coffee (dissolved in a little boiled water, and left to cool)
- 65 g Walnuts (Finely chopped)
- 140 g Self-Raising Flour
For the Coffee Buttercream:
- 100 g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
- 200 g Icing Sugar
- 3 Teaspoons of Instant Coffee (dissolved in a little boiled water, and left to cool)
- 12-15 Large Walnut Pieces (to decorate – optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (fan-assisted) and line a muffin tin with cupcake cases.
- Whisk the margarine and sugar until smooth.
- Add the eggs, whisking in one at a time.
- Pour in the cooled coffee and whisk.
- Whisk in the flour until smooth.
- Gently fold through the chopped walnuts.
- Place a heaped tablespoon of batter in each cupcake case, filling about 1/3 of the case.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until cooked (you can check with a skewer, or press the centre slightly, it should feel firm, but spongy)
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool fully in the tin before removing.
- For the buttercream, first, beat or whisk the butter until it’s softer.
- Add the icing sugar and whisk until it all comes together.
- Whisk in the cooled coffee, one tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick, but pipeable texture.
- Pipe onto the top of the cooled cakes and add a large walnut piece to each to finish.
Notes
- You can use butter in the sponge, but don’t be tempted to switch to margarine for the icing, the texture will be too sloppy.
- You can switch to soft light brown or caster sugar if you prefer.
- Always use cooled coffee.
- Chop your walnuts finely. See a picture of mine in the post above.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
