Walnut Cake
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- Oil or butter, for greasing the pan
- 4large eggs, yolks and whites separated
- 1packed cup/200 grams dark muscovado sugar
- 12ounces/350 grams walnut halves (about 3½ cups), blitzed to the consistency of fine bread crumbs in a food processor
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- ⅛teaspoon kosher salt
- 3tablespoons amaretto
- ⅓cup plus 1 tablespoon/80 grams granulated or superfine sugar (caster sugar)
- 2ounces/60 grams walnut halves (½ cup)
- Sea salt
- ⅔cup/150 milliliters heavy cream (double cream)
- ½teaspoon granulated or superfine sugar (caster sugar)
For the Cake
For the Caramelized Walnuts
For Serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
524 calories; 18 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 78 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 48 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 363 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius. Grease an 8-inch/20-centimeter springform pan with oil or butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Step 2
Place egg yolks and muscovado sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl, if using a hand-held electric mixer). Whip on high speed for about 2 minutes, or until pale and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add walnuts, lemon zest and salt and mix well to combine.
- Step 3
Clean and dry the stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment, then add egg whites to bowl. Whip on high speed for 2 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, fold egg whites into the walnut mixture a third at a time; the mixture will be thick and quite difficult to bring together at first but will gradually loosen, so the final addition of whites lightens the batter considerably.
- Step 4
Pour batter into pan and bake for 40 minutes, until evenly puffed. This is a moist cake, so a skewer inserted inside should not come out completely dry and clean. Let cake cool for 5 minutes, then release it from the pan. (You may need to run a small knife around the edge.) Carefully flip over cake, remove pan bottom and paper, and flip again to transfer it to a large plate. Brush surface with amaretto and then leave to cool completely.
- Step 5
While cake is cooling, make the caramelized walnuts: Sprinkle sugar evenly over the bottom of a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook gently for about 6 minutes, swirling pan but resisting the urge to stir, until you get a medium brown syrup, the consistency of maple syrup. Add walnuts and quickly stir them into the syrup until coated. Pour nuts onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spread in a single layer, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Once cool and hardened, roughly chop into ½- and 1-inch/1- and 2-centimeter pieces.
- Step 6
To serve: Add cream and sugar to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a large bowl and a hand-held whisk). Whip on high speed for 1 minute, or until firm and fluffy. When cake has cooled, spread cream over surface and then scatter with caramelized walnuts.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
MSL - NY
Can I use dark brown sugar for muscovado sugar?
Chrissie
Where's the chocolate? Sam promised chocolate.
Peggy Herron
Could orange orange blossom or rose water be used instead of Ameretto ?
Anna
Sorry to burst anyone's bubble but a quick Google search (that the NY Times editors clearly didn't do) reveals amaretto is NOT Kosher for Passover! Seems like an alternative suggestion is in order, including for people who don't drink.
Soph
Pure flower water would be way too strong, but a teaspoon of rose or orange blossom water in sugar syrup would do the trick. I make a similar syrup for an almond Passover cake I make, it would probably be great on a walnut cake too: water, sugar, the juice and zest of one orange, and one teaspoon of orange blossom water. Simmer together in a saucepan, then strain and brush it on the cake. Trust me, it is excellent!
Judy
Just want to point out that it doesn't have to be dairy free to be "suitable for Passover". It just can't be served with a meat meal for those who are kosher, but certainly could be served with whipped cream for a vegetarian or fish meal.
GC
Writing to see if possible to obtain Yotam Ottolenghi's grandmother's Date Haroseth recipe?
In the article accompanying this walnut cake recipe, Mr. Ottolenghi writes:
"My own favorite as a child was my Italian grandmother’s haroseth. Hers was made of dates with a little bit of orange, dusted with cinnamon and dotted all over with long pine nuts..."
Could the NYT please provide this recipe, too? It sounds delicious!
Does anyone have similar recipe? Thank you!
AC
One of the most decadent desserts I have ever made! I lightly toasted the walnuts, added 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom to the mix & cut sugar to 3/4 cup (mix of turbinado sugar & Indian jaggery), and the cake was still bit too sweet for my taste. Keep the baking time to 30 mins first... mine came out bit too dark at 40. You need the cream to lighten the dense texture but don't add sugar & probably could do without the caramelized walnuts. I'll make this again with alternations.
Ellen N.
Here is a link to the Wikipedia page for muscovado sugar. Granulated sugar wouldn't work as a substitute. You can use dark brown sugar as a substitute for dark muscovado sugar or light brown sugar as a substitute for light muscovado sugar. Just be aware that muscovado sugar has more flavor than brown sugar so your end result won't be quite as good. Muscovado sugar is sold on Amazon in case you can't find it at a store near where you live.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovado
Leslie Oster
I might use already-"blitzed" almond meal--available from Trader Joe's--instead of the walnuts. This is a staple in my baking because I am Gluten-Free.
Arlo
If you start by beating the egg whites and set then aside until needed you don't need to clean the bowl in between whites and yolks. I make a similar recipe with hazelnuts every year.
Angela Kimberk
Should the walnuts be raw or roasted?
Catherine
You could probably sub out orange juice, tea, or something along those lines. Three tablespoons of orange blossom or rose water would be entirely too overpowering.
Nancie
Coconut cream can be whipped like dairy cream,.
vial
One cup of sugar is enough, Pretty tasty cake.
DianeNYC
I've made this several times with excellent results. Thinking about making a hazelnut version. Has anyone tried this, or have recommended modifications if using hazelnuts?
Diana
Excellent. Six of us wolfed it down. (Muscovado sugar- add two tablespoons of dark molasses to one cup white sugar. Mix until it feels like wet sand. Muscovado sugar adds moisture.) Followed reviews suggesting cooking 30 minutes: perfect. Omitted sugar from heavy cream topping. Used whole pecan halves, candied.
James Stewart
Agree that 40 minutes is way too long. After 30 minutes I smelled burning and whisked it out of the oven. 25 minutes would have been better. Next time I’ll set the oven at 350.
Cynthia
Used a 6-in spring form pan with 3 eggs, a half cup dark brown sugar, 8 ounces of walnut flour, 2 tablespoons amaretto. About 27 minutes at 350 degrees F. Candied walnuts: after reading 'the consistency of maple syrup, I decided to just coat walnut pieces in maple syrup and let dry...and it was fine.
Safight
40 mins is too long, overdone!
APK in NY
I was so excited about this cake and followed the recipe, but it barely rose and it was very dry. I think I may have overmixed the whipped egg whites with the rest of the ingredients. Any tips for how to combine the egg whites to get the best consistency of the batter? I only baked the cake for 30 minute as suggested by others. Thanks!
Alan M
Anyone ever try ground pecans instead of walnuts?
LG
This is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made. I brought it to a dinner party and it was gone within 30 minutes and everybody was asking for the recipe. I subbed rose water for amaretto and also put a little in the whipped cream. I topped the cake with the caramelized walnuts and dried rose petals. Incredible!
lynne L
The texture was nice but I thought this was just way too sweet. I measured it in grams. I may try it again with maybe 2/3 of the sugar asked in the recipe. I also wonder if Nocino would be better for the liquor.
Julie
I substitute Grand Marnier for the Amaretto and it was delicious.
Russ
Love this cake. Comes out so well. I decided to use pecans for the candied nut topping. Otherwise, baked as directed.
A
I followed the recipe for the cake, but reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup, used orange zest instead of lemon, and added 1 tsp almond extract and 2 tbsp butter. The cake was absolutely divine and had such a rich and complex flavor. It was plenty sweet and I did not bother making the frosting or the caramelized walnuts. I would use a lighter colored pan next time as the bottom was very brown even at 37 minutes, when I pulled out the cake.
Ada
I used 180 grams of sugar and think that next time I’ll use even less - 150-160 grams. I substituted the amaretto with rum and lemon with orange zest and the result was very satisfying: a moist and delicious cake which is simple and quick to make.
matt
Ottolenghi’s chocolate glaze from his Jerusalem cookbook works really well in place of whipped cream. For this size cake 5 Tbs butter or margerine 4 Tbs dark chocolate broken up 2 tsp honey Place all the ingredients in a double boiler and cook until melted. Once the cake has cooled completely, pour the warm glaze over the cake and rotate the cake so that it pours down the sides as well. Let the glaze set at room temp or in the fridge. Let it come to room temp before serving.
Sweet Melissa
I made this for my cousin who turned 80 tonight. We all enjoyed! I used Frangelico instead of Amaretto. It was a bit too sweet- maybe bc of the switch. We also used Coconut Whipped Cream.
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