Coffee cake

Coffee and walnut traybake
cake squares or slices

This is an easy coffee cake recipe with walnuts, which some people call a traybake. Once cooked and cooled in a shallow baking tray, the cake is cut up into squares or pieces, which I guess are then called coffee and walnut squares or slices.

Anyhow, whatever you call them, they are easy to make and great for a picnic!

Makes 15–20 pieces:

• 225g margarine or butter at room temperature
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 300g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 3 teaspoons of instant coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons of hot water
• 115g walnuts, chopped

For the icing:

• 55g butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons of instant coffee, dissolved in 2 tablespoons of hot water
• 225g icing sugar
• Walnut halves to decorate

Using a wooden spoon or electric mixer, cream the margarine or butter with the caster sugar until soft.

Break in the eggs and mix, adding a little flour to prevent curdling. Continue adding the flour and baking powder, mixing until everything is combined.

Then add the coffee mixture and chopped walnuts and stir them through.

Put the mixture into a 26cm x 16cm (10 x 6 inch) non-stick, shallow tin and cook at 180ºC (350ºF), (fan oven 160ºC) or gas mark 4 for about 40 minutes, or until risen and golden brown. Cool.

To make the icing melt the butter gently either in a saucepan over very low heat or in the microwave. Dissolve the coffee in the hot water and add this with the icing sugar to the butter, beating well together. Spread over the cake in the tin and decorate with the walnut halves.

When the icing has set, cut the coffee cake up into pieces and store in a cake tin for up to five days. You can also freeze if you wish.