Easy Caramel Walnut Cake

Fancy a cake thats decadent, but still afternoon/morning tea appropriate? Well I have found it! This caramel walnut cake is a doddle to mix up, and I'd say I would always have these ingredients on hand. If not, its just a quick dash to the local shops.

Let's get started...

[cake]

• 1 cup, firmly packed brown sugar
• 100g butter
• 100ml milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup self-raising flour

 [buttercream]

• 100g butter, softened
• 1/3 cup golden syrup
• 3/4 cup icing sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 10cm x 20cm loaf tin with baking paper. 

Place the sugar, butter and milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir it until the butter melts, then remove from heat. Mix in the egg and nuts with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula. Add the flour, and stir gently to just combined. 

Pour into the tin and bake for 30-35 minutes. It will be golden brown and slightly sunken in the middle, plus a skewer should come out clean when done. Stand for 5 minutes on a wire rack before turning out of the tin. Leave it on the rack, covered with a tea towel, until completely cool.

Once it's cool, get on with the butter cream. In a electric mixer, beat the butter and golden syrup on medium-high speed until pale and creamy. Turn the mixer down and add the icing sugar bit by bit to avoid a mushroom cloud of powder. Once combined, turn the mixer back up and beat until creamy. All up, the beating should take about 5 minutes. Spread the buttercream over the cooled cake and serve in generous slices. 

Don't keep this cake in the fridge (it ruins the nice crumbly texture), but in an airtight container for about 2-3 days. Good luck getting it to last that long!