espressoborder.jpg

Guess what La Famiglia Cream Puff is doing this weekend?

You got it!

We’re up to our elbows in tomatoes and loving every minute of it. If you’re in the area, we’ve got an apron, a chair and a knife for you. Come by and help us cut up some tomatoes.

As an added bonus, you can have a slice of this delicious espresso cake courtesy of Father Giuseppe Orsini’s cookbook, Italian Baking Secrets.

Ciao!

Walnut and Espresso Cake
From Italian Baking Secrets by Father Giuseppe Orsini.

2 cups walnuts
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup strong espresso (you can use strong coffee if you don’t have espresso)
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a smaller baking pan. The original recope calls for an 8-inch cake pan but you can also use a small tubular pan as I did.

Take one-third of the walnuts and grind them in a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, chop the walnuts as finely as possible. Set aside.

Take the remainder of the walnuts and chop them a few times so that they are coarsely chopped. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, on medium speed, cream together the butter and the sugar and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Combine the espresso and the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low speed, begin adding the flour mixture and the coffee mixture in separate additions. Add the flour in three additions beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Once all the ingredients are incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat for a minute or two.

With a spoon or spatula, stir in the chopped nuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the finely ground walnuts over the top.

Bake for 40 minutes and then test for doneness by inserting a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, bake for an additional 5 minutes and test again.

Once the cake is done, remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake before unmolding to let the cake cool completely.

You can serve the cake as is or dust with some icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Technorat tags: , ,