Friday 15 November 2013

Weekly Bake - Coffee and Walnut Cake

This week we celebrated my darling other half's birthday and seeing that he LOVES coffee I wanted to try this Coffee and Walnut cake from the Great British Book of Baking. For anyone interested in this book you can read a little more about it here.
 


 

 

It would please some of you to know that I actually had one of the worse days baking, everything spilled, eggs broke before they were suppose to go into the mixing bowl, you name it, it went wrong. My reasoning was pressure, as I wanted this special man in my life to have a lovely day and I just wanted everything perfect. It did make me laugh as I normally just throw and go and it generally always works, but this time all odds were against me. Why does this always happen when we least need it?? A question that really puzzles me!



Once again I adapted the recipe to make it Gluten and Dairy free by replacing the flour with Doves Self Raising Gluten Free flour, I used PURE spread instead of butter and I used decaffeinated coffee instead of the real deal, largely because I knew this was going to be eaten at night and I didn't want hyper kiddies running riot in the house around bed time. For the icing I used Oat cream instead of normal cream and I will say this, the icing is simply delicious!!! I did however have two attempts at this as the first required far too much coffee for my liking, so I only used 3/4 of a teaspoon instead of the three required and the result was far better.



I also had a go at making these River Cottage Chocolate and Beetroot Brownies as I wasn't too sure that the kids would eat the coffee cake. Yes I hear you think, but surely the kids won't eat beetroot brownies, well look no further if you want to get some beetroot into your children, this is the way forward even if its not the most healthiest of ways. The kids loved these and if allowed would have happily had about three each. Friends who had some also really loved them but for me the verdict is still not out on these brownies, I think I might have a love-hate relationship with them. I am a massive fan of beetroot, I love it raw, cooked and to be honest in any way possible, but I wouldn't say these were the best brownies that I have tasted, for me Nigella wins hands down every time with these Flourless Chocolate Brownies. They are simply THE best!!




 
 
The kids helped putting up a few balloons and wrapping the presents, they were so excited to celebrate Daddy's birthday with him. Little Es even practiced a little birthday tune on the harmonica and she even got her little chair ready to sit on to do her little birthday performance, so sweet. It is tough when you work and get home late, but I think the doh was delighted and really enjoyed his evening with the family. I cooked a meal, lit some candles, opened a bottle of red and it really felt like a little celebration.







If you are a coffee and walnut fan, then look no further. This recipe is wonderful and the cake turned out far better than expected. The icing was a little runny at first, but it settled, so note to self, next time leave the icing a little longer before icing the cake.


This is the kids on their way to school this morning dressed in PJ's for Children in Need day. I know that our school will be giving 50% of the donations to the crisis in the Philippines. My heart goes out to all those people so badly affected and I do hope that people keep on contributing in some way or another. If you haven't gotten around to donating and would like to you can do so HERE.



I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, mine will be mostly spent sewing and sewing and more sewing and resting of course. What do you have planned for this weekend? Thank you for all your lovely comments on my neck warmer, you bring a little ray of sunshine to my life. A warm welcome to my new followers too.

For anyone interested to add your bake, you can do so at the bottom of this post.


Warm Wishes
Hannapat
xoxo

23 comments:

  1. Your coffee cake and the brownies look great, and if the others love the brownies let them get their beetrooty goodness and you can snaffle the coffee cake!! Hope that your man had a lovely birthday, looks as though a great time was had by all! Great idea to wear PJ's to school - much snugglier than school uniform!! xx

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  2. Happy Birthday to your other half, you did him proud, the cake looks scrumptious as do the brownies, wonderful celebration :) xx

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  3. Hi Hannapat! I've made that coffee and walnut cake before from the same recipe. I find that putting the icing in the fridge for a few minutes makes it less runny and easier to put on the cake. Thanks for sharing the link for giving donations to the Philippines.
    Marion x

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  4. Now that is one scrumptious looking birthday cake! My fella is a total coffee fiend as well, so I'm bookmarking this page for a special day... (Come to think of it, he also is a keen cyclist, could we be married to the same man? ;-} ) Enjoy your weekend, I'm baking tonight and tomorrow so I'll be linking up soon! Cxxx

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  5. You made such a nice birthday for him. My husband looooves coffee and he usually asks for tiramisu on his birthday; I don't have an espresso maker, so I just make regular coffee about three times as strong. :) Your baking looks delicious. The kids look so cute in their PJ's, what a wonderful cause and it must have been fun for them.

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  6. oh yum!...think that will be on my next baking list. the kids look super cute! x

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  7. The cake looks delish!! I am going to have to curb my baking a bit! Tony has just got out of hospital having being diagnosed with gallstones and is supposed to follow a low fat diet! He has no willpower whatsoever, so that means I darent do any baking for the moment.

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  8. Happy birthday to your lovely other half! The cake looks fab...my husband adores coffee and would love this also. The kids look very sweet in their jammies for children in need, at my daughters school the kids all had to wear their clothes back to front or inside out. Lots of fun of a fab cause! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
    Marianne xx

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  9. Happy Birthday to your DOH lovely Hannapat - and what a lovely cake for him (and you!). It's been many years since I made a coffee cake - I think it was in the Be-ro recipe book - but it didn't look as delectable as your recipe. I'm so glad it all worked out well, despite the spills and breaks beforehand - isn't it awful when 'things' keep happening like that.
    It's so sweet when the little ones become involved in preparations as well as celebrations - and sounds like a good time was had by all! I love the pyjamas - very cute - and for such a worthwhile cause!
    Warm hugs and love, Joy xoxo

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  10. Hello Hannapat
    Thanks for your lovely comment on my blog. Lovely to meet you. What a delicious looking cake and my hubby would really like this too. I like the idea of beetroot brownies, thanks for the links and the link Nigella's brownies. They all look super scrummy. I'm sure your OH loved all the attention paid to his birthday :o)
    With regards to the cotton wash clothes. I just bought the cheapest unbleached cotton for £2.20 from my local haberdashery. Most yarn shops sell this cheap and cheerful cotton and it's perfect for wash cloths. Hope you have a great weekend sewing and get back to knitting soon xox Penny

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  11. Lovely Hannapat I was drooling reading your post, I adore coffee and walnut so would gladly have ran all the way to your house for a piece, you make it look so easy. It is funny about the tension as I have the same when the pressure is on me for something special then I start to panic and rush and make mistakes and then tell myself off - not a good deal. No matter your cake turned out wonderfully well because it was baked with love. Have a wonderful weekend Hannapat, big hugs and kisses to you and your lovely family.
    Lots of love
    Dorothy
    :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  12. The baking looks delicious, especially the walnut cake! Yum. I'm sure your doh was delighted with his after work party. It looks perfect to me.

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  13. Your coffee and walnut cake looks absolutely delicious! I hope your doh had a very happy birthday!
    Helen x

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  14. Ooo the coffee and walnut cake looks really yummy! My daughter had a spotty day at school on Friday so cute seeing them all dressed up x

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  15. it's very sweet what you did for him, how nice to come home to cake and candles! haven't had coffee and walnut cake for ages, Heather x

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  16. Cute cow you have there! And the cake looks rather scrummy too :)

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  17. That cake looks delicious!!
    Happy Birthday to your husband!
    The typhoon in the Phillipines has been devastating. .. It's great that your schools are giving to those in need...
    I look forward to getting to know you better & following uour blog!!
    Have a great week!!
    Tammy x

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  18. I really, really could just eat a piece of that cake.....you don't KNOW how MUCH I could just eat a piece of that cake! Glad you enjoyed the birthday celebrations! :) x

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  19. Hi Sweet Hannapat!
    Oh, what a yummy cake and Happy Birthday to your husband! Cute kiddos! Hope you are having a lovely start to the week! xo Heather

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  20. Happy Birthday to your husband!!! Homemade birthday cake is the BEST.

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  21. Got to try this - I lurve coffee n walnut cake. Lovin' those onesies (and cheeky grins!) X

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  22. That coffee cake looks seriously amazing. I want to bake one now! Happy birthday to your other half - I hope he had a lovely time. x

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  23. Oh so many goodies here. I love coffee and walnut cake, so might have to give that a go. I also think I have eaten some of those Nigella chocolate brownies, and they were heaven on earth! xxxxx

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