Pre-heat oven to 180C. Grease and line an 8 inch round springform cake tin with baking paper. To make espresso coffee, dissolve 2 tablespoons instant coffee in 1/2 cup boiling water (I used my Nespresso machine to make half a cup of strong espresso using two Santander capsules).
Place almond meal, amaranth flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon. Add coffee, oil, eggs, vanilla and milk. Beat with an electric blender until fluffy and smooth. Stir through the walnuts gently.
Spoon batter into the prepared tin. Smooth the top. Bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 40 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin.
Place ingredients for maple cream in a clean bowl. Whisk with an electric beater for 8 to 10 minutes until the cream thickens and becomes a spreadable consistency. Using an icing spatula, spread the cream over the cooled cake. Decorate with walnut halves and serve.
Notes
Macadamia oil is wonderful and light. It has a subtle nutty aroma and is high in monosaturated fats. You could substitute with very light and mild olive oil or rice bran oil.Regular cream can be substituted with coconut cream. Omit the maple syrup as coconut cream has a hint of sweetness.This is not a very sweet cake and has a good balance of coffee and sweetness accentuated by the nutty flavours in it. If you like your cake sweeter increase sugar amount to 3/4 cup in the cake and more maple syrup in the cream.