Coffee & Walnut Victoria Sandwich

I haven't got a very sweet tooth but I adore the combination of slightly bitter coffee cake with the also slightly bitter walnuts. I whipped buttercream until it's very light but you could also use fresh cream with a little added Tia Maria, I would have preferred that & I just wish I had some in.
You'll need a pair of  8"/ 20 cm Victoria Sandwich tins, greased & lined at base for this. Alternatively bake in one tin for a little longer and slice the cake in half horizontaly when completely cold..


If you prefer to measure your ingredients rather than weigh them here's a handy Conversion Chart

Set the oven to 180c/350f/gas 4

you'll need 8oz/250g of each of these items soft margarine (I used Stork), caster (superfine) sugar & self-raising flour and 4 eggs.
1 heaped tbsp coffee granules dissolved in 2tbsp hot water

for the buttercream, 4oz/125g softened butter, 8oz/250g icing sugar, 1 heaped teaspoon coffee granules dissoved in 1tsp hot water.

around 25g/50g of walnut halves to decorate

beat the margarine and caster sugar together until light & fluffy,
add 1 egg at a time beating well between each addition.
fold in half of the sifted flour
add the coffee & water mix then fold in the rest of the flour gently to combine.

Divide into the tins and smooth out.

Bake in the centre of the oven for around 25 minutes until the cakes are springy to the touch in the middle.

Leave to cool for about 10 minutes, turn out onto a cooling rack and remove the parchment lining.

Buttercream, whip the butter & icing together for around 3 minutes, add the coffee liquid little by little while still whipping. Continue beating for another 2 or 3 minutes until very light & fluffy.

Sandwich the cooled cakes together with half of the buttercream
Top the cake with the rest and spread into swirls.
Decorate with the walnut halves.
I chopped a few more and scattered them about as I just love nuts.