Gluten Free Coffee and Walnut Cake

It was International Coffee Day last week and I couldn't be more pleased, as it gives me the perfect excuse to bake a delicious gluten free coffee and walnut cake in celebration!

This bake is an adapted version of a Nigella Lawson's recipe.

Ingredients

50g walnuts
225g caster sugar
225 unsalted butter
150g plain gluten free flour
50g ground almonds
1tsp Xanthan Gum
ltbsp of filter coffee liquid
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 eggs

Topping and Filling
1tbsp of filter coffee liquid
200gms icing sugar
100gsm unsalted butter
Walnuts to decorate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees fan)
2. Butter two 20cm/8inch sandwich tins and line with baking parchment.
3. Put the walnut pieces and sugar into a food processor and ground down to a fine nutty powder.

4. Put the nutty mixture into a mixing bowl and add 225g butter, flour, coffee, baking powder, Xanthan gum, bicarb and eggs and process to a smooth batter.

5. Add more coffee to loosen cake mixture - it should be a soft dropping consistency.

6. Divide mixture between the two tins and bake in oven for 25 minutes.
7. Cool the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 mins before turning them out and peeling off the baking parchment.

To make the icing 
1. Put the icing sugar and the butter into the Magimix and whizz until a smooth paste
2. Add the coffee and mix.
3. Use half for the filling and the other half for the top.
4. Decorate the top with walnuts