After purchasing the jumbo bag of walnuts from Costco, I went in search of things to bake that included walnuts. One of my favorite sites had a walnut cake that sounded perfect. After making the goodies for the bake sale, I wanted to bake something a little different. Something that was a little more refined. When I saw this cake, I thought…this looks like a grown-up cake. Something to have with your coffee, while reading the paper. For some reason, I didn’t think that it would be too sweet, and for some other reason, my husband was convinced it should have honey in it. No honey, but it was actually really sweet. I believe that this cake is best served in small slices because of the incredible sweetness each bite contains.
After I removed the cake from the oven, it deflated as it cooled. The top also got very sticky. When I flipped it out of the cake pan, I placed it on a sheet a wax paper so that it would not stick to the plate. The cake looks very dainty, small in height, and once the wild blueberry jam was spread on top it looked very dressed up.
Walnut Jam Cake with Whipped Topping (replicated from SmittenKitchen, adapted from Gourmet.com)
1 1/4 cups walnuts
2/3 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
½ cup jam of your preference (we chose wild blueberry preserves, but I think fig jam or raspberry would be great too)
Whipped topping (purchase cool whip like we did, or make your own)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place rack in middle of oven. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. First, toast walnuts by placing them in a shallow baking pan at 350°F for 10 minutes. Allow walnuts to cool. Then add cooled walnuts and sugar to a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and process until combined. Then add eggs and vanilla and process until combined. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and pulse just until incorporated.
Pour batter into your prepared cake pan. Band the cake pan against the counter a few times to remove any air pockets. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, and then remove from pan. Then allow to cool completely before spreading jam on top of cake, and adding the whipped topping. Refrigerate.
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