Coffee and walnut cake

Coffee and walnut cake is an absolute classic cake. My favourite bit is the butter cream icing which I could eat most of before it even gets on the cake - but do wait as its really worth it!

Ingredients:

• 125g butter (not straight out of the fridge as it will be too hard!)
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 eggs (I prefer to use organic eggs)
• 125g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 heaped tbsp dried coffee mixed with 100mls of water
• 100g walnut halves

For the icing you will need 200g of softened butter and 250g of icing sugar.

Recipe:

1. Line a deep 18cm cake tin (loose-based or springform cake tin will be easier to get the cake out at the end). 
2. Cream together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in the egg, alternating with the sifted flour and add in the baking powder. 
3. Beat in 1 tbsp of the coffee mixture and then add up to another tbsp little by little until the mixture drops easily off the spoon. Keep the rest of the coffee mixture for the icing. 
4. Chop half of the walnuts and mix into the cake batter, keep the rest for the cake decoration.
5. Spoon into the cake tin and cook for 40 minutes at  170C. You can check the cake to see if its cooked in the middle by putting a knife into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean then the cake is cooked.
6. For the icing add the icing sugar, butter and remaining coffee mixture to a bowl and mix until smooth.
7. To decorate the cake  cut the cake into 3 slices horizontally and then sandwich the layers together with some of the icing (like a thick layer of icing). Ice the top of the cake with the rest of the icing and decorate with the rest of the walnuts.

Enjoy!