I appropriated this from
Marian Keyes' espresso and walnut cake recipe in her latest book Saved by Cake. It's a great beginner's baking book with tips and witty repartee from Marian. She says baking didn't cure her depression but helped her along her way to happiness and peace. In her recipe she uses 2 sandwich tins and puts the icing in between the layers and on top.

50g butter
80ml milk
1 c espresso
2 eggs
225g caster sugar
100ml oil
100g chopped pecans
250g self-raising flour

icing:
100g butter
200g icing sugar
1 Tbs instant coffee dissolved in 1 Tbs boiling water, then cooled

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a muffin tray with muffin cases

In a saucepan melt butter and stir in milk and espresso. In a bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until foamy, then add the butter/coffee mix and oil. Add the nuts, then fold in the flour.

Divide into the muffin cases and bake for approx 15 mins. Cool on a wire rack.

Make the icing by whisking the butter, sugar and coffee. Ice the cupcakes. Decorate with nuts if you wish.