Taken from a combination of: Becky Excell's GF coffee & walnut cake and 'Quick-mix chocolate and walnut cake' from Jennie Reekie's Cakes, Pastries and Bread (1979)

• 225g soft margarine / butter

• 225g caster sugar / light brown sugar

• 4 large eggs

• 37.5g (5tbsp) cocoa & equal hot water

• 225g SR flour

• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum

• 1.5tsp baking powder

• 100g walnuts, finely chopped

Icing

• 300g icing sugar

• 1.5 tbsp cocoa

• 1.5 tbsp hot water

• 50g butter

• Walnut halves to decorate

1. 2 x 20cm round baking tins, greased and lined. Oven pre-heated to 160C fan.

2. Cream butter and sugar

3. Add 4 large eggs (slowly, with a little of the flour, to avoid curdling)

4. Mix cocoa and hot water to form a paste. Add.

5. Fold in remaining flour, xanthan gum and baking powder.

6. Fold in walnuts

7. Bake for 25 minutes (skewer will come out clean)

8. Ice. Make swirls with a fork & place walnut halves. Serve with plenty of cream poured over.

Future experiments:

• Making 1x28cm cake instead of 2x20cm. May need 35-45 mins baking.

• Using soft margarine instead of butter

• Using caster sugar (as per book) instead of brown (as per GF website)