1 Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C) (gas mark 6-7).
2 In a large bowl, put your butter, then add the sugar and whisk well (whiten). Then add the eggs one at a time, the ground almonds, the chopped walnuts, the rum or vanilla, and finally pour in the flour, mixing by cutting with a spatula as you would for a soufflé.
3 Pour into a round sponge cake mould in Teflon or flexipan and bake for 40 minutes in the middle of the oven. As usual, test with a knife and when the tip of the knife comes out dry and hot, your cake is done. Let it cool for 45 minutes before turning it out. Serve this walnut cake, for example, with a lovely custard sauce with vanilla.
The key point here is whitening the butter and sugar: whisk for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture pales and becomes airy. It's this incorporation of air that gives the cake its tender crumb. Then, add the eggs one at a time, never two at once, otherwise the batter breaks. As for wine pairings, forget the sweet reds. A dry Jurançon, with its slight bitterness, stands up to roasted walnuts and livens up the whole dish without overwhelming it. Or try a Coteaux-du-Layon, more delicate if you prefer to stay with a sweet but balanced white.
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