1. Brew the coffee and allow it to cool.

2. Heat the oven to 170°c/325F

3. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with an electric whisk.

4. Add the beaten eggs and continue to whisk for one minute

5. Add the walnuts and mix them in so that they are evenly distributed.

6. Pour in the coffee and stir it until it is thoroughly combined.

7. Pour the cake batter into 2 greased 8 inch round cake tins lined with greaseproof paper.

8. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean, if it doesn’t give the cakes another few minutes

9. Remove the cakes from the tins and allow to cool on a wire rack.

10. To make the frosting place all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.

11. Spread half of the frosting between the two cakes and spread the rest on top of the cake, leaving a little of the mixture which can be piped around the top of the cake with a star nozzle.

12. Decorate the edge of the cake with walnut halves and sprinkle generously with chocolate shavings

Chef tip
This recipe would also work well with pecans instead of walnuts
For a grown up version of this cake drizzle the bottom cake with 3tbsp of brandy or Tia Maria before frosting