COFFEE AND MINT CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• For Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Lightly grease & line 2 7-in rd baking tins w/greaseproof paper.
• Put coffee grounds in a sml bowl & pour hot water over them. Leave to infuse for 4-5 minutes, then strain thru a fine sieve (See note below).
• Put butter, sugar, flour, almonds, eggs & coffee in a lrg bowl. Beat well for 1 min till blended. Divide mixture evenly between the tins & level the surface.
• Bake for 25 min till well-risen & firm to the touch. Leave in the tins for 5 min, then turn out onto a wire rack to fully cool.
• For Filling: While cake layers are baking, cream the butter, icing sugar + creme de menthe liqueur together in a bowl till light & fluffy. Refrigerate till cake layers are baked & fully cooled.
• Remove lining paper from sponge cake layers. Put 1 layer on serving plate (flat side up) & frost top surface only w/chilled filling. Gently place 2nd layer atop filling (flat side down). Refrigerate till ready to serve.
• To Serve: Generously dust top of cake w/icing sugar & scatter fresh mint leaves over dusted surface. (This was inconsistent w/the pic which showed the mint leaves mounded in the center of the top of the cake, so choose the look you prefer).
• NOTE RE PREP STEP 2: My pref would be to use a simple coffee filter to strain the coffee & remove the grounds. I'd just squeeze it to get all the coffee for the cake or press the filter w/the round side of a tbsp to manage that step easily. :-).