Walnut Cake with Orange Cardamom Glaze
As cakes go, this Walnut Cake is a classic version of something you would likely find in ancient Italy. With just four simple ingredients for the actual cake, it is known as a Torta di Noci in most parts of the old world. And though the directions look a little daunting at first, it is actually quite simple.
I’ve told you before of my fear of making cakes from scratch, but this one is so easy & gives quite the return on invested time of creating something special in the kitchen.
Add to it the whole food ingredients & you’ve got a winner for a brunch or special dessert. I know you’ll enjoy this cake as much as we have at my house.
Walnut Cake with Orange Cardamom Glaze
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
3 cups walnuts, divided
6 eggs, separated
¾ cup maple sugar
½ cup arrowroot flour
For the glaze:
1 ¼ cup organic powdered sugar
(can also use powdered monk fruit sugar)
4 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Other necessary tools:
Quality spray oil
9” springform pan
Parchment paper
DIRECTIONS
preheat the oven to 350°.
Grind 2 ½ cups of the walnuts in food processor to coarse flour like substance (the size of sand). Chop the remaining ½ cup walnuts into small pieces with a knife. Set aside.
Put the egg yolks into a large bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons of the maple sugar & set aside. Whisk egg yolks together with the remaining sugar until completely combined. Stir in the ground walnuts & arrowroot flour. The mixture will be very stiff & thick at this stage.
Place the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer & turn on medium-high until soft peaks form (this will take 2-4 minutes), then slowly add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar & continue beating 1 more minute.
Stir in a large spoonful of the egg white mixture into the bowl with the walnut batter & fold in. Then add remaining egg whites to cake batter & continue stirring until completely mixed. Add in the ½ cup of chopped walnuts & mix well.
Prepare a 9” springform pan by spraying it with quality oil & then lining the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Lightly spray the top of the parchment as well.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven for 28-32 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Once the cake is done, cool in the pan 10 minutes, then remove from the pan & transfer to a cooling rack for 10 minutes. When ready to glaze, place cake on a rimmed cake plate & make the glaze.
To make the glaze: Combine the powdered sugar & the cardamom in a small bowl. Then pour in the orange juice & the vanilla & whisk. Drizzle the glaze over the cake & serve.