Nothing expresses a region’s character more than a spoonful of wildflower honey. The flavor varies depending on what flowers are indigenous to the area. A hive full of bees did a lot of hard work only to have their cache robbed, so every spoonful consumed should be appreciated.
Alsatians are fiercely proud of their honey. It shows up in their cakes and pastries and gets drizzled on cheese. My Strasbourg-born grandmother would combine honey and walnuts in the fall to produce a cake similar to this one. It’s delicate and moist and carries the scent of honey, orange peel, and walnuts. Serve it unadorned or with softly whipped cream.–Maria Helm Sinskey
LC A Season For All Things Note
This seems like an ideal autumn cake. And it is an ideal autumn cake. But don’t let that lead you to discriminate against it the rest of the year.
Honey Walnut Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups walnut pieces, plus more walnut halves for garnish
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons honey
Directions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan.
- 2. Spread the walnuts on a sheet pan and toast in the preheated oven for 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Rub the nuts in a towel to remove the loose skins.
- 3. Grind the nuts in a food processor with 1/2 cup of the flour until very fine. In a medium bowl, combine the ground nuts, remaining flour, baking powder, and salt.
- 4. In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter with the honey and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- 5. In a small bowl, beat the eggs lightly with the orange zest and vanilla. Add it in thirds to the butter mixture. Beat well to incorporate after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
- 6. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared cake pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- 7. While the cake is baking, toast about 10 walnut halves on a sheet pan for 8 minutes. While they are still warm rub the nuts in a towel to remove the excess skin and place them in a small bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons of honey and stir until the walnuts are coated. Reserve the walnut halves at room temperature to garnish the cake when it is finished.
- 8. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a cake rack to cool. Garnish the edge of the cake with the walnut halves before slicing it into wedges.
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This cake came out beautifully for me! It is fairly quick and easy to prepare. The taste is lovely- not too sweet, pleasant, subtle citrus flavor, moist and light. I served it with pears roasted with cinnamon and vanilla bean. It was loved by all who tasted it.
Appreciate you letting us know how swell you think it is, Judy! It’s soooo simple yet really quite spectacular, we agree.
I used the honey walnut cake recipe for a Memorial Day cookout and it was such a hit I had to make a second one for us to snack on at home! It’s so light that it is perfect to squeeze in after a large meal or even for breakfast. We had a scoop of vanilla ice cream with ours and it was just the right amount of sweet!
Amanda, it looks great! Congrats.
I just made this, with pistachios instead of walnuts, and roasted figs. I was looking for a basic recipe that I could tweak. It came out so good! Thanks.
Marvelous, Ruth!