Walnut coffee cake

Walnuts and coffee is a combination made in heaven. The nutty taste of walnuts perfectly compliments the rich flavour of coffee, and assures you that your cake won't last past the end of the evening... :) Friends, I've officially found my go-to cake! Hallelujah.

Ingredients:

for the cake:

1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup superfine sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2 1/2 tsp. instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp. hot water

for the frosting:

2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. instant coffee
3/4 stick butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
walnut halves, to decorate

.....

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with waxed paper. (I used parchment paper) Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift the flour over the butter mixture and stir in. Fold in the walnuts and coffee. Divide the mixture between the cake pans and spread out evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and the cake springs back when pressed gently. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the frosting, warm the milk and coffee in a pan, stirring until the coffee has dissolved. Pour into a bowl, leaving to cool until just warm. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until creamy, and then add the sugar. Once combined, add the milk and coffee mixture and beat together until smooth and creamy. Spread slightly less than half of the frosting over one of the cooled cakes, then place the second cake on top. Spread the remaining frosting on top and decorate with walnut halves!

And at last, eat up! Enjoy! Make yourself a cup of tea while you're at it! :)

Much love, Vivi