Recipe: Traditional Walnut Cake

Traditional Walnut Cake

Gateau aux Noix II

Traditional Walnut Cake 1-3/4 cups walnut pieces,
including 7 unbroken walnut halves
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1-3/4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flout a 9-inch springform pan. (Use a 9-inch cake pan if you do not have a springform pan.)

2. Set aside 7 of the best walnut halves and coarsely chop the remaining walnuts in the bowl of a food processor.

3. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter. Add the sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt one ingredient at a time, beating continuously. When the ingredients are well mixed, add the chopped walnuts and mix evenly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides by running a knife around the side of the pan. If you are using a springform pan, open it and loosen the bottom of the cake with a spatula. Turn the cake onto a cooling rack with a quick jerk. Immediately reverse the cake onto another cooling rack and garnish with the reserved walnut halves. Let the cake cool top-side up.

From:
The Walnut Cookbook
By Jean-Luc Touissant
Translation by Michael Hinden & Betsy Draine
Ten Speed Press
192 pages
Paperback, $14.95
ISBN: 0-89815-948-2
Recipe Reprinted by permission.