I owe this recipe to Linda Dallas, an artist who lives in North Carolina and was one of my cooking students. She not only taught me the value of the catchall southern phrase “Bless her heart” but shared this recipe with me, after she’d entered it in a baking contest, where it won first prize. When you taste it, you will see why! It is mouthwateringly cozy yet very dressed up, the kind of cake Mom might have made when she was entertaining her friends for an afternoon bridge game and wanted to both satisfy and impress. Despite the relative intensity of the coffee, a flavor sometimes too strong for a child’s palate, my kids, and every child I’ve fed this to, love this cake. They are attracted by its fancy style—three thin layers, tempting icing that gracefully garnishes the layers and the top, and golden walnut halves that finish it off. But they return for more because of its moistness and flavor. This is a cake that will easily serve twelve. It also keeps well. I keep it on a plate at room temperature, with a bowl over it, for a week or more.
FOR THE CAKE:
1 2/3 cups (225 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Heaping ¼ teaspoon ne sea salt
¾ pound (3 sticks/1½ cups/360 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups (330 g) vanilla sugar (Chapter Breakfast)
6 large eggs ¼ cup (25 g) walnuts, lightly toasted and minced
½ cup (125 ml) very strong brewed coffee ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE FROSTING:
16 tablespoons (8 ounces/250 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cup (200 g) confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) strong brewed coffee, chilled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 to ¼ teaspoon ne sea salt
FOR THE GARNISH:
¼ cup (25 g) walnut halves, lightly toasted
Note: This cake is best if left to sit for several hours or overnight before serving. If you do refrigerate this cake, it will emerge somewhat drier than when it went in.
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour three 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pans. Line the pans with parchment paper and butter and flour the parchment paper as well.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients onto a piece of parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the butter and the sugar until they are pale yellow and light. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, whisking each time until the egg is thoroughly
incorporated. Using a large spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the dry ingredients, then the walnuts. Finally, fold in the coffee and vanilla extract.
4. Divide the batter equally among the three pans, smoothing out the batter. The pans will be less than half full, which is fine. Bake the cakes on the center rack of the oven until they are slightly puffed and your finger leaves a slight indentation on the top of the cake when you press it lightly, about 25 minutes. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and turn them out of the pans after they have cooled for 10 minutes.
5. To make the frosting, in a medium bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the butter and confectioners’ sugar until they are pale yellow and light. Add the coffee and vanilla extract and whisk until the mixture is smooth, then whisk in the salt to taste.
6. When the cakes are cooled thoroughly, place one on a serving platter. Top it with one-third of the frosting, then set the second cake on top and frost the top of it. Repeat with the remaining cake. Decorate
with the toasted walnut halves and let sit for an hour or more before serving.
