Coffee Walnut Cake

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease two 8-inch (20-cm) round cake tins, and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper. (I used 2 7-inch round cake tins instead, I grease the cake tins, line the bottoms with greaseproof paper, grease the papers again and dust the tins with all-purpose flour, a little bit elaborated, but I like to play safe (:)

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, spread the walnut pieces on top and toast for 15 to 20 minutes until fragrant. Let it aside to cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter first for a few seconds, then gradually add the sugar and beat until pale and creamy. Scrape the sides occasionally. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the sides after each addition. Sift half of the flour into the batter and fold in gently. Sift the remaining half of the flour and fold in. Fold in the cooled walnuts and the coffee. Divide the mixture between the cake tins and spread out evenly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cake springs back when pressed gently and the skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Make a simple sugar syrup or simply coffee if you don’t intend to serve the cake on the day itself.

To assemble, first freeze the cake layers for 15 minutes. This will make the icing job easier. Place a layer of the cake on a cake board. Brush the syrup over the top of the cake (not too much to “drown the cake”!) and spread slightly less than half of the buttercream over one of the cooled cakes. Brush syrup over the other layer and place the brushed side down onto the buttercream. Brush the top with syrup and spread the remaining buttercream on top and the side and decorate with walnut halves.