Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes
By Jessie
Updated on July 7, 2025
If you're looking for a comforting treat, look no further than these Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes! Each delicious mini cake combines two fluffy layers of coffee-infused sponge studded with crunchy walnuts, with luscious and sweet coffee buttercream. This simple mini cake recipe is the perfect choice for any occasion, from cosy gatherings to elegant celebrations!
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If you’re looking for a comforting treat, look no further than these Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes! Each delicious mini cake combines two fluffy layers of coffee-infused sponge studded with crunchy walnuts, with luscious and sweet coffee buttercream. This simple mini cake recipe is the perfect choice for any occasion, from cosy gatherings to elegant celebrations!
This recipe is part of my Mini Cake Recipe Series which also includes these delicious Mini Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cakes. More mini cake recipes coming soon!
Recipe Overview
- FLAVOUR: Deep, aromatic flavours of coffee combined with soft, sweet sponge and the earthy richness of the walnuts make these mini cakes a real treat!
- TEXTURE: These mini cakes are moist and tender, with a soft and delicate crumb that melts in your mouth. The smooth coffee buttercream adds an extra indulgent softness.
- SERVES: This recipe yields 12 mini cakes when using a mini cake tin. Alternatively, you can use a rectangular traybake tin and cut out the cakes using a round cutter (further instructions are provided below).
Ingredients To Make Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes
To make these cute mini cakes, gather the following ingredients:
- Butter or baking spread: Using a baking spread (such as Stork) is a great way to ensure a moist, fluffy and airy sponge texture. If using butter, make sure it is room temperature so it is easy to incorporate into the cake batter evenly.
- Golden caster sugar: Golden caster sugar adds a subtle caramel flavour to the cake which works really well with the coffee and walnut flavours. If you can’t find golden caster sugar, white caster sugar will work just as well.
- Eggs: Simple sponge recipes call for the best quality ingredients, especially when it comes to the eggs. Opt for organic free-range eggs and make sure they are at room temperature. For this recipe, you can use either 2 large eggs or 3 medium eggs.
- Self-raising flour: Essential for helping the mini cakes rise in the oven. If you only have plain flour, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
- Espresso powder or instant coffee granules: A convenient and effective way to infuse coffee flavour into the cake batter, providing a rich and intense taste that perfectly complements the sweetness of the cake.
- Walnuts: The walnuts add an earthy, slightly bitter taste which works really well with the coffee flavour of the cake.
- Coffee buttercream: The perfect filling for this cake! It’s a simple recipe of salted butter, icing sugar and cooled brewed coffee.
Which Baking Tin To Use For Mini Cakes
To make these Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes, you have two options for baking tins:
- Use a 12-hole mini cake tin: Ideal for creating perfectly shaped mini cakes with tidy edges and no wasted sponge. Simply divide the sponge mixture evenly among the 12 holes, bake the mini cakes, then slice each one horizontally to create two layers.
- Use a rectangular traybake tin and a 3-inch round cutter: A great alternative if you don’t have a mini cake tin. Spread the sponge mixture into a lined traybake tin, bake, and let it cool. Then, use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out mini cakes. Slice horizontally to create two layers. This method yields 8-10 mini cakes, and any leftover sponge can be used to make cake pops or mini trifles.
Quick Recipe Success Tips
- Beat the butter, sugar and eggs together really well: Incorporating air into the mixture creates a light and airy coffee sponge. Don’t skip this step!
- Gently fold in the flour: Carefully fold in the flour to avoid knocking out the air. Only mix until the ingredients are just combined. Overmixing can lead to a heavy and dense sponge.
- Which coffee to use: Use espresso powder or instant coffee granules for a strong, robust and intense coffee flavour.
- Two-ways to decorate: Spread the coffee buttercream on the sponge layers for a rustic look. Or, use a piping bag and round nozzle to pipe droplets of buttercream for an elegant and neat finish.
- How to store these mini cakes: Pop the mini cakes into a baking tin and store them at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes
If you're looking for a comforting treat, look no further than these Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes! Each delicious mini cake combines two fluffy layers of coffee-infused sponge studded with crunchy walnuts, with luscious and sweet coffee buttercream. This simple mini cake recipe is the perfect choice for any occasion, from cosy gatherings to elegant celebrations!
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Servings: 12
Ingredients
For the mini coffee and walnut cakes
- 200 grams Unsalted butter or margarine (I use Stork) if using butter make sure it's at room temperature
- 200 grams Golden caster sugar or white caster sugar
- 2 large Eggs or 3 medium eggs, at room temperature
- 200 grams Self-raising flour
- 2 tablespoons Espresso powder or instant coffee granules
- 75 grams Walnuts roughly chopped
For the coffee buttercream
- 1 tablespoon Espresso powder or instant coffee granules
- 200 grams Unsalted butter
- 400 grams Icing sugar
- Generous pinch of Salt
For the decoration
- 40 grams Walnuts
Instructions
Start by making the cakes:
- First dissolve the coffee in 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Stir to combine and then place in the fridge to cool.2 tablespoons Espresso powder or instant coffee granules
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan / 180°C conventional. Lightly grease a 12-hole mini cake tin with butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.200 grams Unsalted butter or margarine (I use Stork), 200 grams Golden caster sugar
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. You can add 1 tablespoon of the 200 grams flour with each egg to stop the mixture from curdling.2 large Eggs
- Add the flour, cooled coffee and chopped walnuts. Gently fold the mixture together until smooth and just combined.200 grams Self-raising flour, 75 grams Walnuts
- Divide evenly between the mini cake tin, filling each one just over halfway full.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until risen and golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Make the coffee buttercream:
- First dissolve the coffee in 1 tablespoon boiling water. Stir to combine and then place in the fridge to cool.1 tablespoon Espresso powder or instant coffee granules
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy.200 grams Unsalted butter
- Sift in the icing sugar and add the salt. Beat well until the buttercream is smooth and combined.400 grams Icing sugar
- Add the cooled coffee and fold until mixed through.
Assemble and decorate the mini cakes:
- Slice each mini cake horizontally to make two layers.
- Spread or pipe the coffee buttercream on the bottom layer.
- Sandwich with the second sponge layer and pipe more buttercream on top.
- Finish by placing a whole walnut on top of each cake. Serve and enjoy!40 grams Walnuts
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Have you made these Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes?
I’d love to hear what you think! You can leave a review and star rating below. If you snap a picture, be sure to tag me on Instagram @Jessie.Bakes.Cakes and follow for more baking recipes, tips and behind-the-scenes content!
Hi made these but had great difficulty splitting them to fill. Tasted lovely but were too crumbly and fell apart. Any thoughts?
Hi Jill. So sorry to hear that! Hmmm a couple of reasons this happened… the cakes were a little over-baked which caused them to dry out and become crumbly. Or, the chopped walnuts might have made them tricky to slice.
My tip would be, to pop the sponges in the fridge for 20 minutes before slicing them. This is firm up the sponge and seal in the crumbs, making them easily to slice.
Recently Made these, found them to be a nice easy bake.
I found them very soft and crumbly, which texture wise was nice to eat but I found them quite difficult to slice in half without them crumbling up, I even tried different knifes and wire cutters to see if that made a difference.
I did get a slight muffin top on my cakes so I suspect I overfilled slightly, but if that is the case, I could have probably made more than amount stated with the amount of batter I had.
I used brewed espresso in this recipe but found the coffee flavour could have been stronger so might experiment with this further.
Would love to know what size piping tip is used for these so I can add to my collection. The one I had was smaller but I made it work.
Overall cakes were tasty and looked really nice but perhaps a few tweaks might improve further.
Hi Joanna, thanks so much for this detailed review. It’s super helpful to know where the recipe can be improved 😊
Slicing the cakes can be a little tricky… it helps if you pop them in the fridge first for 30 minutes as it seals in the crumbs. Definitely experiment with the coffee quanitity, sometimes the strength can depend on personal preference but also the type of coffee that’s used e.g. dark/medium/robust roast etc.
The piping nozzle was a 1cm round nozzle size. Small but still wide enough to give those chunky droplets.
Let me know if you make them again! xx
Considering making these, Could I use an espresso shot and if so would the amounts of coffee still be the same?
Yes that would work just fine… make up the espresso shot and then scoop out two tablespoons of it and add to the mixture. Hope that helps!