This decadent vegan coffee and walnut cake is easy to make, and a real showstopper. Light and nutty sponge layers filled with fluffy coffee buttercream.
🍴Why you will love this recipe
This deliciously light and moist vegan coffee and walnut cake is so very easy to make. You don't need a fancy food mixer or other equipment, just a bowl and a spatula!
There are no weird ingredients in this cake - no vinegar, flax seeds or egg replacers, and it turns out brilliantly every time, just read the reviews at the bottom of the post.
The coffee buttercream is incredibly creamy and light, and the dark, nutty sponge has just the right level of coffee to be a strong flavour without turning bitter. Follow my top tips for best results. If you have time, keeping the cooled cakes in an airtight tin overnight before adding the buttercream makes a huge difference for an extra-soft and moist sponge.
Jump to:
📝 What you need
Instant Coffee This cake has just the right amount of coffee to have a good coffee kick to it without being bitter. You can use any instant coffee granules or powder, or if you prefer you can swap in liquid coffee essence (like Camp Coffee) in which case you don't need to mix it with water.
Walnuts I chop these by hand rather than using a mini-chopper, so that they don't become chopped too finely.
Oil Use a flavourless oil like rapeseed or sunflower oil. Avoid anything with a stronger flavour like olive or coconut oil.
👩🏽🍳 How to make your Vegan Coffee Cake
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Mix the coffee granules and water and set aside to cool. Roughly chop the walnuts.
Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. In a separate jug, mix the oil, soya milk and coffee mixture.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Stir through the walnuts. Divide the mixture between two tins.
Make the buttercream. When the cakes are completely cool, layer with buttercream and scatter with chopped walnuts.
⭐️ Reader Testimonials
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "I just wanted to express my appreciation for your wonderful recipe! I made this cake yesterday and was so happy with how it turned out! This cake will now be a regular feature in our household. Lovely recipe, thanks again!!!" Priyam
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Just made this today, my first attempt at making a cake and omg, its amazing! Im so proud to have done this. It's so so good! Thank you! I'll certainly be bookmarking your website and trying many more! 😁" Leigh
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Great cake – have used this recipe a few times (was turning into a post Parkrun classic – now is just a classic )🥇 Not many complaints – the only one being ‘where’s my second slice gone!’" John
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Brilliant recipe... this really worked well, came out perfectly, looked good, tasted delicious, best vegan coffee cake I’ve made. Thank you" Jules
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "The cake is absolutely delicious! Perfect texture and sweetness and so nice and simple to make. Thank you for the recipe and building my confidence as a baker!" Antonia
🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
Work quickly once you have combined the wet and dry ingredients. The raising agent will get to work straight away creating tiny bubbles, and you want these to form in the oven, not on your worktop!
If you can, store the cooled cakes overnight in an airtight tin before icing. This process draws moisture through the cakes and makes them deliciously soft and moist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! The coffee sponges themselves freeze very well so you can make them ahead of time, (or even batch-cook two at once!). Pop a sheet of greaseproof paper or baking parchment between each layer then wrap the whole lot tightly in foil.
When you need to serve the cake you can just defrost. make the buttercream and layer it up - it is almost impossible to tell that it isn't freshly baked!
An instant coffee powder is easiest to mix to a paste with boiling water, though granules work fine too. If you prefer, you can use a coffee essence (like Camp Coffee) which doesn't need to be mixed with water.
This cake is lovely and moist, so will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight tin or container.
Yes absolutely. The quantities in the recipe make 20-22 fairly large cupcakes, so you might need to adjust these. The simplest way to do this is to go to 'Print Recipe' and adjust the number of slices. Adjusting to 6 slices will give you 12 cupcakes.
🍽 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
Loved this recipe? ⭐️ Leave a star rating below! 📸 Snap a photo of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram, tagging me @thevegspace or #thevegspace 📩 And get all my latest recipes in a weekly e-mail by subscribing to my newsletter.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Coffee and Walnut Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 tablespoon instant coffee powder or granules mixed with 2 tablespoon boiling water
- 450 g self-raising flour
- 270 g caster sugar
- 2.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 450 ml soya milk
- 150 ml rapeseed oil (or other flavourless oil)
- 100 g walnuts
For the Buttercream:
- 2 tablespoon instant coffee powder or granules mixed with 1 tablespoon boiling water
- 200 g dairy-free block margarine at room temperature
- 400 g icing sugar
- pinch salt
- 2 tablespoon dairy-free single cream optional
- 50 g walnuts
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Mix the instant coffee and boiling water to a paste and leave to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan) / 350ºF / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line two 23cm / 9 inch cake tins with a circle of baking parchment or greaseproof paper.
- Roughly chop the walnuts and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, caster sugar and baking powder).
- In a jug, mix the wet ingredients (milk, oil and cooled coffee mixture), then add these to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.
- Stir through the chopped walnuts, then divide the mixture evenly between the two tins. Tap each tin firmly on the work surface to remove small bubbles, then bake for 18-22 minutes until an inserted skewer or knife comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, remove the baking parchment and leave to cool completely. Ideally, it is best to leave the fully cooled cakes in an airtight tin or container overnight, to layer with buttercream the following day, (this helps the cakes to soften and stops a crust forming), but if you don't have time, just make sure they are completely cool throughout before starting to layer and decorate them.
For the Buttercream:
- Mix the instant coffee and boiling water to a paste and leave to cool.
- In a food mixer or large bowl with electric whisk/mixer, mix the dairy-free margarine and icing sugar until fully combined, then add the coffee mixture, salt and cream, and whisk until light and fluffy.
- Spread about a third of the buttercream over the bottom layer of the cake. Put the top layer in place and spread half the remaining buttercream over the top. Pipe the remaining buttercream in small rosettes around the edge of the cake.
- Finely chop the walnuts and scatter over the cake.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Free 4-Week Vegan Meal Plan
Have you got your hands on a copy of my meal plan yet? If not CLICK here to download a copy of my FREE 4 Week Vegan Meal Plan today!
Please note that all recipes and images on The Veg Space are copyright protected. If you would like to share the recipe, please use the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or copy and paste the recipe, (even if credited to The Veg Space). Many thanks for your understanding
Anisha says
Hi,
Question about the flour. Self raising flour already has baking powder added to it. Do I have to add 2.5 tsp of baking powder additionally?
Kate Ford says
Hi Anisha, Yes that's right - vegan cakes need a bit of extra raising agent as eggs traditionally add to the rise in non-vegan cakes. This makes them really light and fluffy. Thanks, Kate x
ros says
I'm saving all my favourite recipes so as not to lose them. However, I can't find where to access them on the site. Please could you point me in the right direction? Thank you so much!
Kate Ford says
Hi Ros, if you go to grow.me and log in it should be creating a list of all your bookmarked recipes from this and any other site there. Hope that helps x
Michelle Colebourn says
Thanks for your answer. I have had to create a new comment as the reply button would not work, whatever I tried. Regards, Michelle x
Michelle Colebourn says
Can you use extra virgin olive oil and oat milk instead of Soya milk please?.
Kate Ford says
Hi Michelle, oat milk = definitely, not a problem, but EV olive oil = I wouldn't - it has quite a strong flavour and you'll be able to taste it in the finished cake. Sunflower, vegetable, rapeseed are all ideal as they are flavourless. Hope that helps. Kate x
Thomas says
Wow, I just made this for a board game evening and boy was it an absolute hit!!! Thank you so much! The measurements in the recipe are very accurate. Used whiskey buttercream and it was absolutely divine. Be very careful about the baking time, my tooth pick came out clean after 15 mins.
Kate Ford says
Great to hear! Thanks Thomas.
Heather Chapman says
Just made this using exact measurements, method, cooking temp and time. Looked great straight out of the oven but cracked whilst cooling. I kept it overnight in an airtight container, as suggested, 'pasted it together' with icing and it looked great. Very crumbly on cutting though, hard to keep in an exact slice shape. Any ideas?
Sophie says
I tried it with decaffeinated instant coffee and unfortunately couldn't detect any coffee flavour in the finished cake 🙁 does it only work with normal coffee?
Kate Ford says
Hi Sophie, sorry to hear that - did you use all 3 tablespoons? That's a lot of instant coffee so I'm surprised that there was no flavour at all. Perhaps try another brand next time - I find the powdered coffees work well and are quite intense in flavour, or Camp coffee essence is very good too. It shouldn't make any difference at all between caffeinated or decaffeinated. Kate
Joe says
Do you think this would work with instant espresso powder?
Kate Ford says
Yes absolutely, that's ideal. Just mix it up with the water as specified in the recipe.
Isabella says
I am making mine right now and it has already been in the oven for 30m, and it is still raw in the middle! What am I doing wrong?
Kate Ford says
Hi Isabella, sorry to hear that - have you got an oven thermometer that could check the temperature of your oven? That doesn't sound right at all. Were you making cakes the same size as the recipe, ie. in two separate tins, not scaled up at all? Your best bet would be to cover the tins in foil until the cakes are cooked in the middle so they don't dry out around the edges. Kate
Gwynn says
I made this cake for a family gathering and it was a big hit! So pretty, so delicious and so easy to make too!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
Love how easy this recipe is. It’s perfect for our family!
beth says
My absolute favourite cake EVER! Loving this vegan version so my daughter can enjoy it too!
Dana says
Love the flavors in this so much!! I had no idea vegan desserts could turn out so well, and so easily!
Kali Alexandria says
If you are looking for a new cake recipe, this is IT! So yummy!
Laura says
Heya - I'm excited to try this recipe for my partners birthday next week, but one of the guests is coeliac! Do you think I could sub out normal SR flour for GF SR flour?
Kate Ford says
Hi Laura, I've never tried making this with gluten-free flour so can't tell you if it would work or not, sorry! You might be better off looking for a specific vegan and gluten free coffee cake recipe, as the flours do behave quite differently. Sorry not to be more help!
Megan Taylor says
Excellent recipe. I adapted it to a maple and pecan loaf cake.
Kate Ford says
Oh I love the sound of maple and pecan, great idea!
Shelly says
I’ve made this 3 times now. It’s delicious and light, but it’s soooo light that it has collapsed every time. It doesn’t hold its shape when I cut it and it falls apart. It’s a shame because the flavours are wonderful.
Rav says
Can you use brewed coffee instead of coffee grounds and hot water?
Kate Ford says
Hi Rav, the coffee & hot water mix in the recipe is very concentrated - much stronger than normal drinking-strength coffee so you can't really just use normal coffee as you would need to add so much liquid to get the same level of flavour. If you prefer, you can use a good quality coffee essence instead - I like Camp coffee if you can get hold of that, or something similar. Hope that helps!
Alyson Saunders says
Halved the recipe & made cupcakes. They were absolutely delicious, getting the approval from my daughter & her boyfriend. Great recipe & so easy, will definitely be making again! 😊
Kate Ford says
Great to hear, thanks Alyson!
Fiona says
This is my go to coffee cake. Perfect every time.
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear, thanks Fiona x
Julie says
Wow, this cake is my new favourite. Can't believe how easy it was. Wonderful to make a cake that everyone raved about and also included our vegan co-worker.
Kate Ford says
That's so great to hear - thanks Julie! X