Walnut-Spice cake

Walnut-Spice Cake with Walknut by the side

Walnut-Spice Cake

Christmas season, birthdays or any occasion cakes for all occasions are available in various flavors in market but what a charm it holds when for the loved ones cake is baked at home. It has a personal touch and we can make as many variations as possible. On my children birth days they used to demand I make chocolate cake or spice walnut cake. My husband used to lend helping hand and children used to boast to their friends of the delicious cake their mom makes and how papa dear is always there to help her in baking the cake. My daughter in law recently went for trekking and made me make this cake since then her colleague have been pestering her to ask me to blog the recipe of Walnut-spice cake. Make this Christmas special for your loved ones by baking this cake.   

Preparation Time: 40-50 min.

Baking Time: 45-50 min

Serving: makes 750 gm. Cake (Approx)

Ingredients Requi8red For Making Walnut-Spice Cake:

• 6 Eggs 
• 200 gm. Maida (Refined Flour)

Refined Flour (Maida)

• 150 gm Sugar
• 2 Teaspoon Honey
• 150 gm Nutrelite Butter/White butter
• 100 gm Walnuts deshelled (Akharot)
• 8 Cloves (lawang)
• 3 cm. Cinnamon piece (Dalchini)/1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 4 Green Cardamoms (Choti Elaichi)
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder (Level not heaped)

Directions for Making Walnut-spiced Cake:

Making Golden Syrup:

• In a thick bottom pan take 50 gm of sugar and heat on low flame with continuous stirring.
• The sugar will start melting keep heating on low flame and stirring till the sugar turns to dark brown (not black) liquid. It will take 4-5 min.
• Switch off the gas and add 100 ml. of water to the hot melted brown color sugar in the pan. The sugar will stiffen do not worry.
• Boil the mixture with stirring so as to dissolve all sugar.
• When the sugar water mixture reduces to half remove from heat and cover. Keep aside to cool and future use.

Making The Batter Of The Walnut-Spice Cake:

• Mix baking powder and refined flour and sift it through a fine sieve four or five times to ensure thorough mixing of baking powder with maida. Keep in a dry container.
• Mix all spices and make a course powder.
• Add the spices powder to the golden syrup cover and keep aside.
• Cut walnuts to small size and sprinkle 10 gm. refined flour on it. Mix nicely so as to coat the walnut pieces with maida(Refined flour).
• Separate egg whites from egg yolk.
• Powder 100 gm sugar to a fine powder. Keep 50 gm sugar separate for making golden syrup.
• Cut the butter to cubes and take in a wide deep bowl.
• Beat the butter with a wooden fork or fingers to soften it.
• Add all sugar powder and whisk with wooden fork or fingers till it gets creamy consistency. It will take minimum 10 minutes.
• Beat egg yolk and add small portions and whisk with fork. Continue till all egg yolk has been incorporated in butter sugar mixture.
• The mixture should look creamy and be light.

Butter and Sugar Egg yolk mixturemixture

• Whisk egg white till stiff peak are formed of the froth of egg white.

Egg White being whisked

Frothy stiff peaked Egg White

• To the creamy mixture of sugar, butter and egg yolk add one spoon of refined flour and baking powder mixture and mix with light swirling action. Add one spoon of egg white and fold it to the mixture. Repeat this alternate mixing of egg white and flour mixture till all the egg white and flour is finished.

Egg White and Flour being added 

Batter before golden syrup is added

• Add spices and golden syrup mixture and honey to the above mixture and mix with light swirling action.

Golden syrup with spices, Honey added to Batter

• Add the walnut pieces and mix lightly.

Walnuts added to batter and mixed

• Line a baking dish with butter paper and pour the batter in it.

Batter being poured in Baking dish lined with butter paper

Ready for Baking

Baking The Cake:

• Pre-heat the oven to 160 centigrate and place a small metallic /oven proof dish with 150 ml. water ot the bottom.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 160­^o C for 30 min.

After 30 minutes

• The cake will rise and start becoming light brown from top.
• Increase the temperature to 180^oC and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
• Keep checking by poking a long needle in the cake and switch off the oven immediately when the needle comes out clean. The time may vary from 5-10 min depending on the size of eggs.

After 45 minutes

• Remove the cake from oven cover with a thin cloth or butter paper and cool on a rake.

Walnut-SDpice Cake

• Turn the cake in the baking dish upside down on a big dish and pat the baking dish lightly with hands. The cake will fall free on the plate.
• Remove the butter paper and cut the cake to the required size or decorate it as per your choice with icing then enjoy with hot tea/chocolate/coffee with family and friends.

Walnut-Spice Cake with Walnuts on the side

Merry Christmas to my friends. Celeberate this christmas with Walnut-Spice Cake.

Tips:

• Butter shouldf be chilled noty at room temperature when you cut it to pieces for whisking.
• Avoid using metallic spoon or fork. If wooden fork is not available use your fingers for making fluffy cake. Metal fork causes heavy whisking thus reducing trapped air.
• Do not heap the spoon while measuring the baking powder.
• Measuring spoon set is availabler in market which gives standard measurement, use them preferably.
• Sugar powder should be very fine.
• Add egg yolk slowly with continuous whisking to avoid curdling of butter.
• Coating nuts with flour is must to avoid them from settling at the bottom while baking.
• Caramelize the sugar on low flame and do not burn it the golden syrup will not be golden in color or taste.
• Water is kept in the oven to make sure the top exposed surface remains moist and soft.

Alternate Suggestions:

• 50 gm of deseeded dates can be soaked in 100 ml of milk for 30 min and then ground to coarse paste and added along with golden syrup- spices mixture.
• Whole wheat flour or multi grain flour can be taken instead of refined flour (Maida) to make the healthier version of Walnut-Spice Cake.
• 20 ml. Rum can be added along with golden syrup-spice mixture to give a Christmas touch.