Name: Coffee and Chocolate Chunk Pecan Nut Loaf Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Ingredients: 150g pecan nuts, divided; 4 teaspoons instant coffee mixed with 4 teaspoons boiling water; 130g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 130g soft brown sugar; ¼ teaspoon fine salt; 2 large eggs; 2 tablespoons milk; 130g plain/all-purpose flour, sieved; 1¼ teaspoons baking powder; 125g chocolate chopped into chunks – I use Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, or use dark or white chocolate

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Loaded with roast pecan nuts and chunks of chocolate, this traditional loaf cake is bursting with the flavours of coffee and roast pecan nuts. The contrasting textures from crispy pecan nuts, creamy chocolate and a light and fluffy sponge, add a new dimension to enjoy with a hot cup of tea.

Today is my younger daughter’s 21st birthday. Emma is currently living in Cornwall at the start of her second year at Medical School – although, I have to say, that every picture of her I have seen since she returned has been on the beach rather than at her desk with her head in her books!! After 6 months of living at home because of COVID 19 – who can blame them? The weather this September has been glorious, the beaches in Cornwall are stunning and what better way than to watch a sunset, than a barbecue on the beach with friends?

For Emma’s birthday I decided to make some cakes to send to Cornwall which she can take down to the beach and share on her birthday (whilst they are all in their groups of six, of course!) The cake Emma mostly asks me to make is a Coffee and Roast Pecan Nut Sponge Cake with Coffee Buttercream icing – her absolute favourite sponge cake, closely followed by Mocha and Chocolate Cake.

Sending anything with buttercream is obviously impossible so instead I created this beauty – Coffee and Chocolate Chunk Pecan Nut Loaf Cake which is loaded with roast pecan nuts and chocolate chunks. We tried it out at home first and it was sooooo good. All the flavour and coffee deliciousness of the sponge cake but with added depth of flavour and texture from the pecan nut and chocolate chunks. It is an absolute winner and one I know will become a regular feature in this house.

How to make Coffee and Chocolate Chunk Pecan Nut Loaf Cake

This recipe is delicious in its simplicity:

make the Classic Sponge – Core Recipe, adding some coffee and ground roast pecans. (For more guidance on making the sponge, please refer back to this Core recipe here.)
fold in some additional chunks of pecan nuts and chocolate – I used milk chocolate but you could also use white or dark
decorate with roast pecan halves
Cook. Cool. Eat!

In fact it is made in exactly the same way as the sponge cake but you just stir in the additional pecan nuts and chocolate chunks before transferring to a loaf tin, decorating with some nuts and baking. Voila! All done and good to go.

Whenever I cook with nuts, I try to use them in decorating or garnishing the cake/dish, before I serve it, just to let anyone with allergies know not to gobble it down!

Coffee and Pecan Cake

Quick, easy and all made in one bowl. Collect all your ingredients for the cake together:

unsalted butter
soft brown sugar
salt
eggs
plain flour
ground roast pecans
instant coffee mixing with boiling water
baking powder
milk
roast pecan nut chunks
chocolate chunks
some complete pecan nut halves to decorate

NB This cake is also delicious made with walnuts instead of pecan nuts. Simply replace the nuts and prepare in exactly the same way.

First roast the pecans or walnuts. Cook in a preheated oven for 10 minutes, giving them a good stir after 5 minutes. Remove 12 unbroken halves to decorate the cake and then tip 50g into the food processor and pulse until they they resemble fine bread crumbs or ground almonds. Be careful not to over process or they will turn into pecan nut butter.

1 Plus some chunks of chocolate and pecan nuts

Roasting the nuts enhances and deepens their flavour, improves their texture and makes them more crispy. Not all recipes ask you to roast them before adding to cakes, but it really is worth the little extra effort.

Secondly, mix the instant coffee with the boiling water and set on one side to cool down.

Now make the cake: it is important to make sure the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat easily with the other ingredients. I place my mixing bowl on top my scales and weigh everything directly into the bowl. Ideally, you should sieve the flour, although I confess I don’t always do this! The best way to do it though is to place the sieve on top of the bowl, zero the scales, weigh in the flour and then shake the sieve. Use an electric whisk to beat until combined. This should take no longer than 1 minutes. Fold in the chunks of chocolate and pecan nuts.

Transfer to a 2lb lined loaf tin and decorate the top of the cake with your reserved pecan halves and all done – bake, cool, EAT!

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodilkitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.

Coffee and Chocolate Chunk Pecan Nut Loaf Cake

Loaded with roast pecan nuts and chunks of chocolate, this traditional loaf cake is bursting with the flavours of coffee and roast pecan nuts.

Course afternoon tea, Morning Coffee, Snack, treat

Cuisine British

Keyword cake, Chocolate, coffee, pecan nuts

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Author Susan

Ingredients

150g pecan nuts, divided
4 teaspoons instant coffee mixed with 4 teaspoons boiling water
130g unsalted butter, at room temperature
130g soft brown sugar
¼ teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
130g plain/all-purpose flour, sieved
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
125g chocolate chopped into chunks – I use Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, or use dark or white chocolate

Instructions

Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
Preheat oven to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4
Tip all the pecan nuts on to a baking tray and cook in the centre of the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes, giving them a stir after 5 minutes.
Transfer 50g into a food processor and blitz until they look like breadcrumbs. Be careful not to over-process or they may turn into pecan nut butter.
Mix the coffee with the boiling water and set aside to cool.
Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment or a baking tin liner
Weigh the butter into a mixing bowl and ensure the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat. If not, soften it slightly in the microwave. (Be very careful not to melt it though – just do 5 seconds at a time if you are unsure.)
Add the sugar, salt, eggs, milk, cold coffee and ground pecan nuts to the butter. Put the mixing bowl on the scales, balance the sieve on the bowl and zero the scales.
Weigh the flour and baking powder directly onto the sieve. Lift the sieve above the bowl and shake the sieve. You may need to use a spoon to press any remaining lumps of flour or baking powder through.
Whisk thoroughly with an electric whisk until just combined. This should take around 40 seconds to 1 minute and no more.
Remove 12 complete pecan halves from the remaining nuts, to decorate the top of the cake, and roughly chop the remainder.
Fold in the chopped pecans and chocolate chunks.
Transfer to the prepared cake tin (see Recipe Notes) and use the 12 pecan halves to decorate the top of the cake.
Cook in the centre of the oven for 45 – 55 minutes or until the sponge is cooked. It is cooked when:
– the centre feels springy when lightly touched with your finger and no imprint remains
– a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean
Take out of the oven and leave for 5 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool.