A classic cake that has been given a vegan makeover. This cake can also be easily made into a gluten free option. There's no denying that we have a healthy fixation with cake. This obsession runs in parallel with a love of coffee. In Croatia at WearActive, we have accumulated an array of coffee preparation options, a stainless steel french press for the morning and then a moka pot for the afternoon espresso. We were very fortunate that when we took on MoaAlm Mountain Retreat in Austria, the coffee machine was left by the previous owner. This coffee machine was retro before retro was a thing! The great condition of this coffee machine has been helped by the amazing mountain spring water that we have access to high in the Alps. No chemicals; water in its truest form, we are very fortunate to have this on-tap. Our coffee bean supply is from Sonnentor, a wonderful fair trade, organic Austrian company that specialises in teas, herbs, spices and coffee. With the perfect coffee supply, a machine to help grind the bean and a retro machine, all that is now needed is the cake.
Back to the cake...This cake is super moist due to the walnuts. It’s also made with very little oil, as the nuts add the extra fat to keep the cake soft. The cake is lovely without the coffee cream frosting, but for extra indulgence, the frosting is worth the effort.
180g all purpose flour (switch to Gluten free flour if desired)
100g finely ground walnuts
1 tsp baking powder
½ heaped tsp baking soda
150g caster sugar
A handful of extra chopped walnuts to decorate
195 ml plant milk, such as almond
60 ml very strong coffee
60 ml melted coconut oil or another mild tasting oil
60 ml maple syrup or another sweetener such as rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
60 ml very strong coffee
180g of overnight soaked cashews
Preheat the oven to 180° C and grease a 20cm springform cake tin with a little bit of oil.
Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the remaining dry ingredients, ground walnuts, baking soda, baking powder and caster sugar, mixing well.
Add all the wet ingredients and fold them gently into the dry ingredients until no flour pockets remain. Add the cake batter to the tin and bake for approximately 40 mins.
Let the cake cool down completely before removing it from the tin.
Put maple syrup, vanilla extract and coffee at the bottom of a blender. Slowly add the drained cashews and blend until super smooth.
Refrigerate for about an hour to help it set before icing the coffee and walnut cake.
When we add the frosting, we also like to add chopped walnuts for extra decoration.
Slice, serve, pour a cup of coffee and enjoy.
Happy Baking!
For some other cake ideas check out our banana cake and carrot cake.
If you would like us to make cakes and coffee for you, then why not check out our holidays in Austria or Croatia..
Remember to #relaxinglyactive if you share our recipes on Social Media.