Shona's Home Baking, Hamilton, Scotland.

My friend Shona will never know how very close she came to toppling my Mum's cake as the gold standard...

There are a number of reasons for this:

She made it  for me despite the fact that:
1. She doesn't like coffee cake
2. She is allergic to walnuts

And it was magnificent! Added to the fact that I only had one slice, her husband only had one slice and she (for the reasons stated above) had none - so I got to bring the rest home with me :)

The sponge was perfectly moist and just solid enough to support the abundant icing. If the icing had been just a little bit more 'dense' then I'm afraid my Mum's efforts would be history. Shona's sponge allied to mum's icing would be the PERFECT CAKE.

That is not a claim I make lightly. But it is true.

Price: FREE (and produced at personal risk to the health of the baker!)

Walnut Garnish: yes
Walnut in sponge: yes
Sponge: 10/10
Icing: 9/10
Filling: yes - and plenty of it. Only just managed to fit the cake in the tin.