Mary's Mini Coffee and Walnut Cakes

Ingredients

• 150g softened butter
• 150g light muscovado sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1 level teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 tbsp coffee essence
• 75g chopped walnuts

For the filling and decoration

• 150g softened butter
• 450g sifted icing sugar
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp coffee essence
• 200g walnut halves, finely chopped
• 16 chocolate covered coffee beans

Instructions

1. 1
   Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Grease 6 x 2in mini cake tins and line each with a piece of baking parchment. Grease and line the base tray with baking parchment.
2. 2
   Measure all the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and coffee essence into a bowl and beat until thoroughly blended and smooth. Fold in the walnuts.
3. 3
   Divide or pipe the mixture equally between the mini cake tins. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until well-risen and the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed with a finger.
4. 4
   Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, turn the cakes out of the tins, remove the parchment and trim neatly across the top and slice them in half. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
5. 5
   To make the filling and topping, beat together the butter, icing sugar, milk and coffee essence in a bowl until smooth.
6. 6
   When the cakes are completely cold, sandwich them together with about ¼ of the buttercream.
7. 7
   Spread a thin coat of buttercream around the sides of each cake and then roll the sides in chopped walnuts.
8. 8
   Spoon the remaining buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a small star (2D) nozzle and pipe around the tops of the cakes and top with a chocolate covered coffee bean.