Walnut butterfly buns recipe

Savour the taste of coffee and walnut in these oh-so-pretty little cupcakes - the ideal teatime treat.

Ingredients

For the buns:

• 60g (2oz) walnuts, ground or finely chopped
• 150g (5oz) self-raising flour
• 150g (5oz) butter, softened
• 150g (5oz) caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 tbsp milk

For the icing:

• 125g (4oz) icing sugar
• 60g (2oz) butter, softened
• 2 level tsp instant coffee granules
• 12 pieces walnut
• Icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C, 375°F or gas  5. Place all the bun ingredients in a bowl and beat them together until smooth. Spoon the mixture into a 12-hole bun tray lined with paper cases.
2. Bake the mixture in the oven for about 15 mins, or until the buns have risen and are firm to the touch in the centre. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the butter. Dissolve the coffee granules in 1tbsp boiling water and add to the icing sugar. Beat until smooth. If the icing is still very thick, add a little more boiling water. Transfer to a piping bag with a star-shape tube.
4. Cut off the tops of the cakes and cut each top in half. Pipe a swirl of icing on each cake and replace the two top halves to resemble 'wings'. Place a piece of walnut in the centre to complete the 'butterfly'. Dust with icing sugar.

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