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Brown Butter Espresso Walnut Cake

10–12 servings2 hrs 15 mins – 2 hrs 45 mins

A nutty brown butter sponge layered with cloud-like espresso buttercream and toasted walnuts.

Ingredients

Sponge
Walnuts
Buttercream

Instructions

Sponge
1. Brown the butter | 10 mins
  • Melt
    Unsalted butter
    210 g
    browns down to about 175 g
     in a saucepan over medium heat.
  • Let it foam, and keep going until the milk solids on the bottom turn deep amber and smell nutty.
  • Pour it straight into a heatproof bowl, scraping in every brown fleck, so it stops cooking.
2. Chill it back to solid | 30–45 mins
  • Refrigerate the brown butter for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring now and then.
  • Take it out once it has set to the texture of soft, room temperature butter.
3. Line the tins | 5 mins
  • Grease two 18 cm sandwich tins with
    Unsalted butter
    a knob
    for the tins
     and line the bases with baking paper.
4. Cream the butter and sugars | 5 mins
  • Beat the solidified brown butter with
    Golden caster sugar
    100 g
     and
    Light brown soft sugar
    75 g
     for a full 5 minutes.
  • Stop only when the mixture is visibly aerated, pale and fluffy.
5. Add the wet ingredients | 5 mins
  • Add
    Room temperature eggs
    lightly beaten, 3 large
     to the creamed butter a little at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
  • Stir in
    Vanilla extract
    1 tsp
    ,
    Cooled strong espresso
    2 tbsp
     and
    Whole milk
    1 tbsp
    .
Walnuts
1. Toast the walnuts | 10 mins
  • While the butter chills, heat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C).
  • Scatter
    Walnuts
    100 g
     on a baking tray and roast for 7 to 8 minutes, until fragrant.
  • Let them cool, then chop them roughly.
Sponge & Walnuts
1. Fold in the dry ingredients | 5 mins
  • Add
    Self-raising flour
    175 g
    ,
    Baking powder
    1 tsp
     and
    Fine sea salt
    ½ tsp
     to the batter.
  • Fold gently with a spatula until only just combined, keeping the air in.
  • Fold in half of
    Walnuts
    100 g
    .
2. Bake the sponges | 25 mins
  • Divide the batter evenly between the tins.
  • Bake for 25 minutes, until springy and a skewer comes out clean.
3. Cool completely | 45 mins – 1 hr
  • Leave the sponges in their tins for 5 minutes.
  • Turn them onto a wire rack and leave until stone cold, or the buttercream will slide straight off.
Buttercream
1. Whip the buttercream | 10 mins
  • While the sponges cool, beat
    Room temperature unsalted butter
    200 g
     on its own for 4 minutes, until very pale and creamy.
  • Sift in
    Icing sugar
    400 g
     in two batches, beating well between them.
  • Stream in
    Cooled strong espresso
    3 tbsp
    ,
    Vanilla extract
    1 tsp
     and
    Fine sea salt
    a large pinch
    , then whip for a final 2 minutes until light and cloud-like.
2. Assemble | 10 mins
  • Sandwich the cold sponges with half of the buttercream.
  • Spread the rest over the top.
  • Scatter over the remaining toasted walnuts.

Tips & Notes

  • Why 210 g of butter: Browning drives off the water, so the 210 g cooks down to roughly 175 g. Weigh it after browning if you want to be exact.
  • Darker roast wins: A dark roast espresso pushes through all that sugar. A light, fruity roast disappears into the sponge.
  • Stone cold only: Buttercream on a barely warm sponge will slump. If you are rushing, chill the layers for 20 minutes first.