Espresso & walnut cake

SERVES 12 INGREDIENTS For the cake

300g soft light brown sugar

75g walnut pieces

325g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 eggs

225ml soured cream

100ml walnut oil

4 tbsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in 175ml hot water ½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp fine sea salt

For the frosting

75g butter, softened

125g cream cheese

300g icing sugar, sifted

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water

To decorate

75g caster sugar 75g walnut pieces 1

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ gas 4. Oil and line two 20cm cake tins with baking parchment.

2

To make the cake, put the sugar and walnuts in a food processor and blitz to finely chop the walnuts. Add all of the remaining cake ingredients, and blitz well to give you a smooth, loose batter. Divide the cake mix between the two tins.

3

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cakes are risen and springy to touch and start to come away from the sides of the tins.

4

Cool in the tins for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack.

5

While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Beat the butter in an electric mixer until smooth. Add the cream cheese, beating for about a minute until smooth.

6

Reduce the speed to low, then add the icing sugar, cinnamon and espresso. Beat until you have a smooth and creamy texture. 7

Spread half of the frosting on top of one of the cakes and sandwich the other on top. Spread the remaining frosting on top.

8

To prepare the decoration, line a baking tray with baking parchment. Put the sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat and leave until the sugar is melted and deep golden, swirling the pan a couple of times for even colour.

9

Don’t leave the pan unattended, as it can burn very quickly. Immediately tip the walnuts into the pan, stir to coat in the caramel and tip onto the prepared tray, flattening into a single layer with the spoon.

10

The nuts will become cold and crunchy. You can either leave them in large pieces to decorate the top of the cake, or crush them into smaller pieces with a rolling pin and sprinkle over the cake.

Flexible tip

Make it gluten-free. A gluten-free flour blend will work very well in this cake.