This chocolate walnut cake is the perfect snack sized cake, no layering or frosting required! It’s tender, comes together in bowl and is topped with loads of chopped walnuts for crunch! If you’re someone who doesn’t like super sweet desserts, you’ll love this!
Here’s why you should make this delicious chocolate walnut cake:
This cake is a simple oiled based cake, making it super easy to whip up in one bowl! It’s full of rich chocolate flavor thanks to the cocoa powder and chopped chocolate chunks too! The addition of freshly brewed coffee contributes the moisture in this cake as well as helps to bring out even more chocolate flavor! Soooo yum!
Ingredients you’ll need for my chocolate walnut cake recipe:
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Water
- Freshly brewed coffee
- Vegetable oil
- White vinegar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
- Walnuts
Other nuts to try for next time:
- Pecans
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
How to make this easy chocolate walnut cake recipe:
- Combine the wet ingredients.
- Sprinkle in the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the chopped chocolate
- Transfer the batter to a baking pan and sprinkle walnuts on top of cake.
- Bake!
Tips for a yummy cake!
- Brew fresh, hot coffee! Fresh coffee will have much more intensity compared to espresso powder or old coffee and will lead to a rich chocolate cake!
- Don’t over-mix the batter! You only need to mix until there is no flour remaining. Over-mixing will result in a dense, dry cake.
- Chopped or whole walnuts will work for this recipe. I think the look of whole walnuts on top is beautiful though!
- Test the center of the baked cake with a cake tester or a toothpick. Make sure that when the cake tester is inserted into the middle of the cake, it comes out clean. That’s when you know the cake is fully baked!
FAQ:
The combination of white vinegar and baking soda in this cake are the key factors that make this cake rise in the oven. It results in a fluffy, moist cake and no, you CAN’T taste the vinegar!!!
Sure! Most recipes that are baked in a 8×8 or 9×9 pan can be doubled and baked in a 9×13 pan. This is one of those recipes!
The most important thing is that the cocoa powder is unsweetened. As long as it’s unsweetened, it’ll be fine! Dutch-processed and natural cocoa powder to have some flavor differences though. If you want a more intense chocolate flavor that’ll definitely satisfy the chocolate cravings, I would recommend using dutch process cocoa.
It’s really just personal preference! Semi-sweet will of course be a little more sweet, but will still be equally delicious!
This chocolate walnut cake keeps well for 2-3 days after baking. You can either cover with foil and leave at room temperature, or store in an airtight container and place in the fridge. You can still enjoy at room temperature by removing from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving.
Chocolate Walnut Cake
Equipment
- 1 whisk or rubber spatula
- 1 8×8 or 9×9 square baking dish
- 1 sharp knife
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup chocolate chunks or chips
- 1 cup walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, water. freshly brewed coffee, vegetable oil, white vinegar and vanilla extract. Whisk well.
- Sprinkle in the flour, cocoa powder and baking sofa. Mix to form a smooth cake batter.
- Fold in semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks/chips.
- Spray a 8×8 or 9×9 square baking pan with non-stick spray to prevent the bottom of the cake from sticking, then pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Smooth top of the batter into an even layer and sprinkle walnuts all over top of the cake.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing with a sharp knife!
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