Sugar-Crusted Walnut Cake
Inspired by techniques from Bon Appétit.
Ground walnuts and almond flour stand in for most of the wheat flour in this rich, moist cake, with yogurt and cream keeping it tender and a raw-sugar crust forming top and bottom as it bakes. It's deliberately made ahead and served cold, which lets the texture settle into something closer to a fudgy torte.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Prepare the dish. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). Butter a 33 x 23 cm metal or glass baking dish and sprinkle the bottom evenly with 38 g (3 tbsp) of the raw sugar. Set aside.
- 2
Grind the walnuts. Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Set 200 g aside for folding in later. Add the all-purpose flour to the rest in the processor and pulse until the walnuts are very finely ground, 1-2 minutes. Add the almond flour and pulse to blend; set the mixture aside.
- 3
Cream the butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- 4
Add the wet ingredients. Add the eggs, cream, yogurt and fine salt, then scrape in the vanilla seeds. Beat until well combined, 1-2 minutes.
- 5
Combine. Add the ground-walnut mixture and beat just to blend. Gently fold in the reserved chopped walnuts, being careful not to overmix.
- 6
Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared dish and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the remaining raw sugar. Bake until cooked through and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, 50-55 minutes. Let the cake cool in the dish on a wire rack.
- 7
Serve. Serve with whipped cream, cold or at room temperature. The cake can be made up to 3 days ahead; cover and chill, as it's best served cold.
Storage
Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days; the cake is meant to be served cold or at room temperature rather than warm. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Free sugars
11.2 g per serving
22.4 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 44.8 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- food processor
- 33 x 23 cm baking dish
- electric mixer
- rubber spatula
- wire rack
- mixing bowls
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 510 kcal |
| Protein | 10.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 21.8 g |
| of which sugars | 13.4 g |
| of which free sugars | 11.2 g |
| Fat | 45 g |
| of which saturates | 13.6 g |
| Fibre | 3.2 g |
| Salt | 0.23 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
2 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
