Storing Coffee And Walnut Cake

Our answer

Nigella's Coffee And Walnut Layer Cake (from KITCHEN) is a Victoria-style sponge cake that has some ground walnuts incorporated into the cake batter. The nuts will help the sponge to stay fresh and soft for slightly longer than a regular sponge, but the cake is really at its best within 3-4 days of baking. This may be extended by a day or two if the cake is covered completely with rolled fondant icing and not cut into. However, the sponge can be made in advance and frozen, so you could make the cake earlier and defrost and decorate it a day or so before the wedding.

Let the sponge layers cool completely then wrap each layer tightly in a double layer of clingfilm (plastic wrap) and a layer of foil and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, unwrap the sponge layers and put them on a wire rack at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Brushing the sponge layers with a simple sugar syrup can add a bit of extra moisture and the cake should be kept in an airtight container until the last possible moment, to prevent it from drying out.