Classic coffee cake

Preheat oven to 180C fan (190C for a conventional oven) and grease and line two sandwich cake tins with parchment paper.

Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes until pale and fluffy.

On a low speed mix in half the eggs and half the sieved flour before adding in the coffee essence (or cooled coffee). Next add in the remaining eggs and flour.

Spoon the cake mix into both tins, levelling off the tops, and bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes until risen and springy to touch. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the filling and icing.

Make the buttercream by combining the listed ingredients together until nice and smooth.

Spread the buttercream onto one sandwich with a knife (or transfer the buttercream to a piping bag to pipe it for a more professional look) then place the second sandwich on top.

Lastly, make the coffee glacé icing by mixing icing sugar with coffee essence, then gradually stir in the boiled water to a thick pouring consistency.

Starting in the centre, pour the icing slowly over the top of the cake, gently spreading it outwards until it reaches the edges without spilling over.

Decorate with cocoa coffee beans.

Variation: You can also make the cake in a standard 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin (you'll need to bake the cake for approximately 1 hour, and, once cool, slice the cake in half). If you don't have Irel or Camp coffee essence, per 1 tbsp Irel, substitute 1 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tsp boiling water.