Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 225 g butter ((or margarine, if you prefer), softened)
• 225 g caster sugar
• 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 225 g self raising flour
• 50 g walnuts (chopped finely (See Note 1))
• 2 tablespoons of strong black coffee ((See Note 2))
• 100 g butter ((or margarine, if you prefer), softened)
• 200 g icing sugar (sieved )
• 2 tablespoons strong black coffee ((See Note 2))
• 24 nice looking walnuts (roughly 30g (1oz), I just used the rest of a 100g packet (See Note 1))

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Cupcakes ---

2. 2

   Pick out 24 really nice walnuts from your packet and set aside for decorating the cupcakes later. Weigh out 50g (1¾oz) of the remaining walnuts and chop finely, or just break them into small pieces with your fingers.

3. 3

   Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C fan / gas mark 4 / 350F. Put 24 cupcake cases in the holes of a cupcake tin. (See Note 3.)

4. 4

   In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar thoroughly, until the mixture starts to look a little bit paler.

5. 5

   Add in one egg at a time and stir until each egg is completely mixed in before adding the next one.

6. 6

   Add in half the flour and stir gently until just combined. Add in the remaining flour and, again, stir gently until the flour is just combined.

7. 7

   Add in the finely chopped walnuts and the strong black coffee and stir just enough to ensure the walnuts are evenly distributed.

8. 8

   Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases. (I find 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture per cupcake case is about right.)

9. 9

   Put the cupcakes in your preheated oven for 13 minutes. After 13 minutes, get them out and check for doneness by pressing the tops. If they make a little crunchy sound, pop them in for two more minutes. If they don’t make a sound when you press the top, they are done. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the cupcake tray.

10. 10

    --- Icing and Decoration ---

11. 11

    Don’t try and ice the cupcakes until they are completely cold! (They take about 1 hour to cool.)

12. 12

    Put the softened butter and sieved icing sugar in a bowl and beat together until smooth. Add in the coffee and beat again until evenly mixed in.

13. 13

    Using a regular table knife, smooth a little of the icing onto the top of each cupcake and top with a walnut.