Microwave coffee & walnut cake

Microwave coffee & walnut cake

Good Food reader Catherine Dunkley shares her super-quick and easy recipe for the perfect last-minute coffee and walnut cake

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 10 mins

Method

  1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs followed by the flour and instant coffee. Stir most of the walnuts (if using) into the batter, reserving a few for decoration. Transfer to a microwave-proof dish and cook on full power for 2 mins. Reduce the power to medium and cook for 2 mins.
  2. After 4 mins, check to see if the cake is cooked - it should be risen and spring back when touched. If it needs a bit longer, cook on medium for 1 min more at a time, checking after each minute until the cake is cooked. Remove and allow to cool.
  3. Meanwhile, make the coffee butter cream. Dissolve the coffee in the milk, then add the butter and icing sugar. Beat until smooth, spread over the cake and top with the reserved walnuts.

PER SERVING

538 kcalories, protein 7.0g, carbohydrate 65.0g, fat 30.0 g, saturated fat 16.0g, fibre 1.0g, sugar 49.0g, salt 0.65 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2011.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • 14 February 2011

    Ellen rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this cake on the same day I got the new magazine! It was quick and easy to make - you can always add more coffee for a stronger taste. The family all enjoyed it and I will definitely be making it again!

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  • 01 March 2011

    SarahD rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this without the walnuts but did make more topping and it was lovely. Made it in a round perspex bowl and it turned out fine (with no greasing) and I iced the top and you would hardly know it was microwaved!!

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  • 12 March 2011

    Weeble rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I wrote detailed feedback on this recipe but BBC site 'encountered an issue' and I lost it so here's the brief version: Icing- delicious. But double recipe amount. Cake- bland and dry. Saved by icing Overall easy to make and good to do with kids.

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  • 03 April 2011

    victoria-short rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    cake is a little dry but the frosting makes up for it. it is good but Im not sure why you need to make a cake in the microwave as the prepping part is the same amount of effort as a regular basic cake

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  • 05 April 2011

    The Farmers Wife rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I stupidly put the coffee in 'as is' without disolving in a bit of boiled water. This resulted in brown spots and an anemic looking cake. However if i disolved the coffee in water it would have coloured the cake better. Next time I will double the quantity of the cake mix. If I had time to bake it in the oven I would but this will be good for a quick fix. A good cake to make with kids.

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  • 16 April 2011

    Georgiaa:) commented on this recipe

    I Made this cake today, and it was so easy and everybody liked it. I loved the fact that it could go in the microwave!! :)

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  • 28 April 2011

    Mrsnoonoo rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    What a lovely surprise - really good and so quick and easy. I added a bit more coffee powder and dissolved a in little water. It's as good as the fastest lemon pudding which is also on this site.

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  • 18 June 2011

    everyday im eating cake commented on this recipe

    lovely cake and super fast!!! however i would put it in for longer than 4 minutes coz it wasn't cooked properly!! :-) well done xxxxxx

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  • 18 June 2011

    everyday im eating cake rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 22 July 2011

    Mrs Granger commented on this recipe

    As mentioned by others the buttercream for this recipe really is yummy! I omitted the walnuts as im not a fan so just made a plain coffee cake. Im also intolerant to wheat so used a wheat free self raising flour, same quantity though. Turned out much better than I expected (anyone who's eaten wheat free cakes knows how hit or miss they can be!) Over all a recipe I will definately make again. Rose perfectly in the 4 minute cooking time too. Maybe it depends on how powerful your microwave is? Only problem I had was I made it in a round pyrex bowl so it was a b**ger to get out but some prodding round the edges with a skewer sorted that =)

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  • 22 July 2011

    Mrs Granger rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    /\ Forgot to rate!

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  • 26 October 2011

    Tara25 commented on this recipe

    I ran out of SR Flour so used Plain with baking powder. I used 3 tsp coffee in 3 tsp of hot water, after reading some of the comments about taste. I didnt do the topping as we had it as a Sponge. I made a quick Coffee sauce and we ate the lovely moist Sponge with Rum and Raison Ice Cream and lightly drizzled the Coffee sauce over both.

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  • 26 October 2011

    Tara25 rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 29 November 2011

    G of Shamley rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Decided to try this with my 2 year old daughter - she loved mixing. Thought I would try and make it as simple as possible with minimum utensils. Used a round ceramic bowl which worked well - I didn't transfer the mixture to another bowl. My microwave is 800W and I did 2 mins on 100%, 2 mins on 60% and needed a further 1 min at 60% power. We didn't dissolve the coffee first so ended up with a spotty cake which we thought was funny. Kept it in the same bowl and spread the butter cream on top - hadn't allowed cake to cool fully so was a bit difficult to spread without breaking the cake top. Cut a couple of pieces into little bowls immediately and enjoyed! Very good and very simple. It's a bit more like a pudding having it warm but so yummy!

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  • 18 January 2012

    deanandcatherine rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 05 February 2012

    mynameismonkey commented on this recipe

    I made mine with a cinnamon icing - 1 tsp of ground cinnamon instead of the coffee in the frosting...delish! (But then I have a crazy amount of love or cinnamon!)

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  • 14 November 2012

    Rachael NH commented on this recipe

    Took the advice and used 3tsp coffee dissolved in 3 teaspoons water then doubled up the recipe....came out FANTASTIC !

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  • 05 February 2013

    Pranisha Prasad commented on this recipe

    after reading all the comments and looking at the cake.... m making this for sure !! :D

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  • 05 February 2013

    Pranisha Prasad commented on this recipe

    after reading all the comments and looking at the cake.... m making this for sure !! :D

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  • 08 March 2013

    Jody rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Just made this. Its totally scrummy. I made double the mixture and baked it in oven for 20 mins at 160 degrees fan. The butter icing is the best bit even with the cheap coffee I used. Will deffo be making this again very soon :)

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 10 mins

Ingredients

  • 85g very soft butter
  • 85g golden caster sugar
  • 2 eggs , beaten
  • 85g self-raising flour
  • 2 tsp instant coffee powder
  • small handful walnut pieces (optional)

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

  • 1 tsp instant coffee powder
  • 1 tsp milk
  • 25g very soft butter
  • 100g icing sugar
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PER SERVING

538 kcalories, protein 7.0g, carbohydrate 65.0g, fat 30.0 g, saturated fat 16.0g, fibre 1.0g, sugar 49.0g, salt 0.65 g

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