Walnut and coffee pastry layer cake

Method

1. Put the sugar in a wide pan with 200ml water, then bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute to make a syrup. Leave to cool.
2. Dust a large work surface lightly with flour, then unroll the pastry onto it. Roll it as thin and evenly as possible – about 1mm. Cut out large circles around 20cm in diameter (use a plate as a guide) – you should get 6-7 in total. Prick each pastry disc all over with a fork.
3. Heat a spoonful of the butter in a wide frying pan over a low-medium heat and gently fry a pastry disc on both sides until golden and crisp. Set aside on a plate to cool, then repeat with more butter and another disc until they’re all golden and crisp.
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4. For the coffee cream, heat the milk with the vanilla and coffee powder in a saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and both flours together in a bowl. Pour in the hot milk, whisking continuously, then return the
   mixture to the pan and cook over a low-medium heat, whisking constantly, until very thick (about 5 minutes).
5. Remove the cream from the heat, then whisk in the chilled cubes of butter. Leave to cool to room temperature, then whisk in the softened butter.
6. To assemble, dip a fried pastry disc in the cooled syrup, then put on a serving plate. Top with some coffee cream, then top with another syrup-dipped disc. Continue layering the cake like this until the final pastry disc is on top. Transfer the remaining coffee cream to a piping bag.
7. Pipe the remaining cream on top of the cake in little peaks, then sprinkle with the walnuts and chocolate shavings. Dust with icing sugar, then serve.