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Coffee and walnut cake

Good Food Magazine
Put the kettle on and make a lovely cuppa to go with a slice of this classic teatime cake by Brigid Tobin

Coffee and walnut cake

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Grease two 20cm deep sandwich cake tins. Line the base of each with greaseproof paper.

2. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs a bit at a time, sprinkling in a bit of the flour to stop the mixture curdling. Sift and fold in the remaining flour, then fold in the walnuts. Mix the coffee essence with 1 teaspoon water and fold this in, then divide the mixture equally between the prepared cake tins and level the tops. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cakes spring back when lightly pressed in the centre with your finger. Leave the cakes in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave until cold.

3. Make the filling. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, then use to sandwich the two cakes together.

4. Make the icing. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then mix in the coffee essence and 2-3 tablespoons cold water to make a smooth icing. Pour the icing onto the top of the cake and quickly spread it over the top and sides, then arrange 8 walnut halves around the outside and one in the middle. Leave the icing to set before serving.

Coffee Essence
Camp Coffee is a drink made from coffee and chicory essence. You can buy it in supermarkets and it's great for cakes and bakes, if not modern drinking tastes. If you can't find any, make up some strong instant coffee and use 4 teaspoons in the cake and 1 teaspoon each in the filling and icing.

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Serves: 6

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 25 min

Ingredients
200g Butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 Eggs, beaten
200g self-raising flour
50g Walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp coffee essence, (see tip below)