CLICK – Spring

After much thought and trials I have settled with the below image for this month’s CLICK event! There is a neem tree in the backyard which is loaded with these fragrant beautiful flowers and I thought this is the right candidate for this season. As in our part of the world the Spring is almost merged to Summer I don’t have any other go! Thanks for all the support and motivation from Jai and Bee.
als

Coffee Walnut cake

Summer is in full swing in our part of the world. The last post has kindled so many jealousy notes on the sea breeze and the lovely balcony I have attached few shots of the balcony which has become our residence most of the time during the day.

As the sea breeze starts by 12 noon the family hangs around this part of the house to cool down.

Thanks to this balcony and the space before the apartment which allows free air flow. You know we never switch on the air conditioner’s yet

A week before I got a bag of walnuts. These wonderful brain shaped nuts have a wonderful flavor which I am hooked to right from the childhood. Appa used to buy loaves of walnut tea cakes from the McRenette bakery and we used to relish it till the last bits of the crumb. I wanted to bake a cake with these nuts and I wanted a coffee hint to it (don’t know why) hence I searched and searched and found a recipe from here. Its named as espresso walnut cake. After starting mixing the ingredients I found few things not in hand specially the macadamia oil. I searched in google only to found the lovey flavour of that can never be replaced with anything else. After much thought and prayers to baking fairies I settled down with melted butter. The baking fairies have blessed me enough and the cake turned to be so very nice. Its soft, moist and with the perfect hint of coffee and with the lovely crunch of walnuts here and there. It went excellent with the hot cuppa but I loved it on its own.

Usually when I bake cakes I would hardly be eating a slice or two but this time I am on the one who galloped most of the slices, yes its hard to resist. It keeps well for 3-4 days from baking outside the refrigerator but not sure how the texture would turn if inside.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
FOR THE CAKE
1 Cup All purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp fine salt
1 Cup melted butter
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup espresso, cooled
1/2 cup less 2 T full cream milk
75g nibbed or chopped walnuts

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C. Grease and line a 22cm loaf tin with parchment paper. Mix flour, salt and baking powder and sift 3 times. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks, 14/ cup espresso and milk well. Add in the sugar and blend for a minute. I used the handheld mixer. Sift the flour mix in 3 additions with the yolk mix and blend well. Add the melted butter and fold in. In a separate clean dry bowl whisk the room temperature egg whites to stiff. Mix the egg whites into the flour mix in 2 additions and mix softly until no streks of whites appear in the batter. Pour it into the prepared bowl and bake till a cake tester comes out clean.

My small OTG started charring the tops after 15 mins but I found the center of the cake still wet. Hence I covered the bowl with a metal plate and lowered the over temperature and baked for further 10 mins. This made the cake perfectly cooked.

Serve warm with a cuppa.