Walnuts are my favorite nuts, not least of which for the wonderful memories I have of cracking them open with my deda to share as a snack. As a child I was of course never strong enough to do it myself, and always thought of him as the strongest person in the world as he would sit in his favorite chair cracking them open for me.
So when a friend gave me a jar of homemade fig-honey preserves she brought back from Greece I thought, “now’s the time to finally make that walnut cake I had on my list of things to try” and I needed a cake for my daughter’s 3rd birthday party. The theme this year was based on the classic children’s book “Kako zivi Antutun,” and although he lives “u desotom selo” we always say the 10th village is Antunovac, where my sister-in-law lives. Since they have fig trees in their garden and walnuts are also very popular in Croatia, it was as if the fates aligned.
So “voila, voila” as the Belgians say.
Cake
- 250 grams of unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup of finely granulated sugar
- 1 cup of dark brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract
- 3 cups of cake flour
- 100 grams of walnuts, grounded with some larger pieces as well
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/2 cups of milk (full-fat and definitely no skim!)
- 4 heaping tablespoons of sour cream
Frosting and decoration
- 35 grams of all-purpose flour
- 100 grams of super fine sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup of whole milk
- 125 grams of sweet butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fig-honey preserves (or another of your choice)
- Fresh figs (for decoration)
Preheat the oven 180 degrees Celsius. Grease your pans if necessary (I always use silicone because I find it the easiest.)
In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugars until well incorporated and creamy, making sure to break up any lumps of brown sugar. (If your sugar has hardened, put it into a microwavable bowl, cover with a moist paper towel and microwave it for 20 seconds before adding it to the butter.) Next add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Finally the milk and sour cream.
Next place a colander over the bowl and sift in all of the dry ingredients until smooth but not overmixed.
Bake in the oven and after about 15 minutes check to ensure they aren’t browning too quickly and adjust as needed (you may need to turn them if one side is cooking faster or place a sheet of baking paper on top to slow down the cooking, etc.) After about 10 minutes check again. They will be done when they are lightly browned and no longer wiggling in the center. Remove and let cool.
While the cake is baking, start the frosting. Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and milk in a medium-sized pot over low-medium heat. Whisk continuously to ensure it combines well–and most importantly–doesn’t burn. It’ll start to thicken and bubble and once it starts to bubble up and grow, remove from the heat. Scrap the pudding out onto a plate and quickly cover with plastic wrap (or a ziplock bag as I’ve done before!) and set aside to completely cool.
Once the pudding has cooled, you can finish up the frosting. In a large bowl beat the butter for a minute or so until smooth. Then add the pudding a spoonful at a time, finally ending with the vanilla. Mix for another minute or so until it is well incorporated and fluffy.
Now assemble the cake. Cute the top off each layer to make flat. Place one on a cake stand or plate then smooth the preserves in a nice even layer. Then take the other layer and flip upside down and spread a thin layer of the buttercream. Carefully place the top cake layer on the jam with the frosting side down. Don’t worry if a little jam comes out the side as it will just add a little color to the buttercream when you smooth it along the sides. Next add the rest of the buttercream in a few dollops on the top of the cake. Coat it well then take a bit and spread just a thin layer around to keep the cake from drying out. If you don’t want it to be a “naked” cake, just frost it as usual.
Decorate as you like with the fresh figs or as you like.
This kind of buttercream tastes best if eaten right away or within a few hours. Otherwise you have to put it in the fridge, then leave it out for about 20 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
Sol i papar 