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.
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.