65g (2½oz) butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for greasing
100g (3½oz) plain flour
1tsp. baking powder
4 medium eggs
125g (4oz) caster sugar
1Tbsp. Camp Chicory & Coffee Essence
75g (3oz) walnuts, toasted, cooled and finely chopped
For the decoration
50g (2oz) walnuts
1Tbsp. granulated sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
For the icing
200g (7oz) good quality white chocolate, such as Green & Black's
4tsp. Camp Chicory & Coffee Essence
2 x 250 g tubs mascarpone
Fresh unsprayed violets to decorate
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 190ºC (170ºC fan) mark 5. Grease two 20.5cm x 4cm deep (8in x 1½in deep) round cake tins and line the base of each with a circle of greased greaseproof paper. Sift together the flour and baking powder twice.
Step 2
Using an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water for 3-4min until light, thick and fluffy. Remove bowl from heat and continue whisking until mixture has cooled and the whisk leaves a ribbon trail for 8sec when lifted out of the bowl.
Step 3
Fold in butter, coffee essence and walnuts. Sift half the flour over; fold in carefully but quickly with a metal spoon. Sift and fold in the rest, taking care not to knock out too much air. Pour into tins and lightly tap on worktop. Bake for 20-25min until the tops feel springy. Cool in tins for 10min, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 4
To make the decoration, whiz the walnuts in a food processor or blender with the sugar and cinnamon until finely chopped. Take care not to overprocess the nuts or they'll become oily. Set aside.
Step 5
To make the icing, break up the chocolate and put in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Allow to melt slowly without stirring. In another bowl, add the coffee essence to the mascarpone and beat until smooth, then slowly beat in the melted chocolate.
Step 6
Spread a third of the icing on top of one cake, then sandwich with the other half. Smooth remaining icing over the top and sides. Lift cake on to a large piece of greaseproof paper and scatter nuts all around it. Then lift the greaseproof up to press nuts on to the sides. Transfer to a plate and decorate with violets. The cake will keep for two days in an airtight container in the fridge.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
