As children, we were told “coffee is for grown ups”. That was all well and good, but that dictum apparently didn’t hold good when we were visiting our grandparents.
A typical breakfast of akki otti, ellu pajji and kumbala curry was always rounded off with freshly brewed coffee. No one seemed to be particularly concerned if children were allowed any or not. When large pots of coffee were brought to the table at the end of the meal, naturally we helped ourselves. Perhaps it made a difference that there was plenty of room outdoors for us to burn off any caffeine driven bursts of energy.
The memory of that milky, sweet and just slightly bitter brew lingers on. In this holiday baking season, I was reminded of an old favourite from my mother’s recipe file – an easy coffee cake that captures those flavours perfectly. Do try it, and see if you can decide if you enjoy this better with a cup of coffee, or tea.
No permission required! 🙂
Coffee cake
- 125 g butter
- 140 g sugar
- 170 g flour
- I tsp baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 75 g chopped walnuts
- 1 1/2 * tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 3 tbsp milk
Preheat your oven to 180˚C/ 350˚F.
Butter a small loaf tin or cupcake pan and dust lightly with flour.
Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) together.
Use 1 tsp of the flour to dust the chopped walnuts.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Beat in one egg, along with 1 tsp flour to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Repeat with the second egg, then fold in the remaining flour, adding the milk and coffee mixture as the batter gets thicker.
Fold in the walnuts.
Bake in the prepared tins for 25-30 minutes. (cupcakes will bake faster) or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove and allow the cake to cool a little before removing it from the tin and transferring to a wire rack.
* You can increase this up to 2 1/2 tbsp without making the cake bitter.
