Lyle's Coffee and Walnut Cake

Create coffee cake heaven:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150° Fan, 325°F, Gas 3 and get cracking with the cake. Mix the butter and Lyle's Golden Syrup together until light and creamy - then sprinkle the espresso powder over the top and briefly mix in.
2. Add the eggs little by little (making sure they are well beaten in). It doesn't matter if the mixture curdles as it will come together with the flour. Combine the almonds and flour and lightly stir in, then add the walnuts.
3. Divide the mixture between two 20cm (8”) round sandwich tins (greased and lined with parchment paper). Level the surface and bake on the middle shelf for about 30-35 minutes until risen and a rich brown - and a fine skewer comes out clean when poked in the middle. It's ready to remove, so leave to cool for 10 minutes in their tins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool, discarding the parchment.
4. Next up - caramelised walnuts. Pour the Lyle's Golden Syrup into a medium-sized, non-stick frying pan over a moderately high heat and cook for 3-4 minutes until there are lots of bubbles and it thickens to make a rich amber caramel. No need to stir; just shake the pan. Check it's ready by spooning a little of the caramel into a small bowl of cold water - if it hardens immediately, remove from the heat.
5. Add the walnuts and using a fork swirl them in the caramel to coat. Lift onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, then drizzle any remaining caramel onto another lined tray to make 12 decorative pieces. Leave to cool and harden.
6. For the buttercream, sift the Icing Sugar over the butter, add the Lyle's Golden Syrup and process in a mixer for 1 minute until soft and creamy. Scrape down the sides. Dissolve the espresso powder in the boiling water, add and combine until smooth.
7. Sandwich the cakes together with half of the buttercream and use the rest to spread decoratively over the top. Place on a serving plate, decorate with the caramelised walnuts and caramel pieces and serve.