This cake may be served as a cake or as a desert. It needs preparing the day before

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 eggs (separate yolks and whites)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
• ½ teaspoon coffee essence
• 60g butter
• 3 tablespoons water
• ½ cup icing sugar
• sponge cake, day old
• 300 ml cream, whipped
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts (or other nuts)

Method

Blend cocoa, coffee essence, sugar and water until smooth

Add well beaten egg yolks and cook over hot water (double boiler method) until thick and smooth, stirring constantly

Cool and add vanilla essence

Cream butter and icing sugar together, add two thirds of the walnuts, then the chocolate mixture and finally fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites

Line a loaf tin or similar with grease proof paper and fill with alternate layers of sponge cake cut in fairly thin slices, and the chocolate mixture, beginning and ending with a sponge layer

Chill overnight and when ready to serve remove from tin, peel off paper, and cut into slices to serve

If desired, ice cake all over with stiffly beaten whipped cream and sprinkle with the remainder of nuts

Cream may also be flavoured with essences