Walnut Cake is a delicious easy recipe. the cake is so soft and fluffy! Recipe also for a lovely vanilla frosting. You can make this as a round cake or a loaf, instructions for both. Freezer friendly too. This would also make a nice cake for the holidays!
Walnut Cake! What a wonderful cake!
For this recipe, I’ve used one of my basic cake recipes and adjusted it to get a lovely fluffy texture and accommodate the walnuts inside the cake.
It is a light, fluffy cake, a bit like eating clouds, and the flavour is very delicious.
The addition of a simple vanilla buttercream frosting adds another dimension to each bite, so all in all, this is a very nice eat! … and of course, it goes perfectly with a lovely cup of tea.
This walnut cake uses 2 round cake tins, which means I can make a sandwich cake with the frosting in between the layers and then on top too.
However, this cake will also cook very well as a loaf cake, so if you prefer that, all you need to do is take note of the longer cook time. Otherwise, everything else stays the same.
The cake itself is not sickly sweet, because the buttercream frosting has vanilla, which adds extra sweetness, and not too much sugar.
If you do have a particularly sweet tooth, I would suggest you taste the frosting as you are making it and add a little more sugar to your taste.
This walnut cake will also freeze very well, so if you needed to make ahead, or perhaps you wanted to freeze in portions, then all you need to do is wrap it very well in some parchment and then airtight in a zip bag and simply defrost to room temperature when you wish to eat it.
So let’s see how to make this easy walnut cake recipe!
By the way, you can also add 2 – 3 tablespoons of Expresso coffee in the batter if you wanted a variation. That is also a nice combination which I have made several times.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 – 35 minutes OR 1 hr for a loaf pan
Yield: 12 Persons
Ingredients
The Cake :
1 cup or 250 g butter, softened
1 cup or 200 g Regular or Castor Sugar
1 1/2 or 190 g cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup or 80 ml Milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 Cups or 140 g Chopped walnuts
The frosting:
5 oz or 150 g Softened Butter
2 1/2 Cups or 300 g Powdered/icing sugar *** Please note, you may wish to increase this amount if you have a very very sweet tooth.
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 160 C, 325 F. Grease and lightly flour two 8 inch or 20 cm loose-bottomed round cake tins. I always like to place a disc of parchment in the base of each tin so the cake comes out very easily. You can also use our easy pan release recipe if you don’t have any parchment paper.
2. Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Chop the walnuts. Make sure the pieces are NO LARGER than pea size. Any bigger and they will sink to the bottom during baking.
3. Lightly beat eggs and add vanilla in a bowl. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
** NOTE: Creaming the butter and sugar is VERY important to get a fluffy texture to the cake crumb. Please make sure you use your mixer and cream until you see the colour of the butter turn almost white. It will take you around 5 – 7 minutes for this to happen, and it is worth the extra time taken!
4. Add egg mixture, a little at a time to the batter. Then add half the flour, then milk, then the rest of flour. Add the walnuts and make sure they are well combined and distributed.
5. Transfer the cake batter mixture equally into the 2 baking tins and bake 30 – 35 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. If using a loaf pan, keep the same temperature, and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hr 10 minutes. Again, check for doneness.
6. . Allow the cakes to rest for 2 minutes then remove from pans and place UPSIDE DOWN on a cooling rack. Allow to COMPLETELY cool before frosting.
*** Please note, bake times will vary slightly so please check for doneness after 25 – 30 minutes of baking.
For the Buttercream Frosting:
7. Add the softened butter (it MUST be softened) vanilla and powdered sugar to a mixing bowl and start by using a wooden spoon to combine. If you start with an electric mixer the powdered sugar will fly everywhere!! Once combined, use a mixer and beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until you see an almost white colour and the mixture is fluffy. At this point, taste the buttercream for sweetness. If you want more, just add some more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it is to your liking.
8. When the cakes have COMPLETELY cooled, place the first cake on the plate, then take some frosting and spread evenly over the top. Then add the second cake on top and continue to frost all over the cake, or how you like. You can simply spread the frosting or use a piping bag if you would like a pretty pattern. You choose!
Make up a cup of tea and enjoy!
We’d love to hear from you and what you thought of our post. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
Here are a few more delicious cake recipes for you to enjoy!
Authentic German Black Forest Cake
- 1 cup or 250 g butter softened
- 1 cup or 200 g Regular or Castor Sugar
- 1 1/2 g or 190 cups AP flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup or 80 ml Milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 Cups or 140 g Chopped walnuts
- 5 oz or 150 g Softened Butter
- 2 1/2 Cups or 300 g Powdered/icing sugar *** Please note you may wish to increase this amount if you have a very very sweet tooth.
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 160 C, 325 F. Grease and lightly flour two 8 inch or 20 cm loose bottomed round cake tins. I always like to place a disc of parchment in the base of each tin so the cake comes out very easily.
- Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Chop the walnuts. Make sure the pieces are NO LARGER than pea size. Any bigger and they will sink to the bottom during baking.
- Lightly beat eggs and add vanilla in a bowl. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
- Add egg mixture, a little at a time to the batter. Then add half the flour, then milk, then the rest of flour. Add the walnuts and make sure they are well combined and distributed.
- Transfer the cake batter mixture equally in to the 2 baking tins and bake 30 - 35 mins or until skewer comes out clean. If using a loaf pan, keep the same temperature, and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hr 10 minutes. Again, check for doneness.
- Allow the cakes to rest for 2 minutes then remove from pans and place UPSIDE DOWN on a cooling rack. Allow to COMPLETELY cool before frosting.
- *** Please note, bake times will vary slightly so please check for done - ness after 25 - 30 minutes of baking.
- Add the softened butter (it MUST be softened) vanilla and powdered sugar to a mixing bowl and start by using a wooden spoon to combine. If you start with an electric mixer the powdered sugar will fly everywhere!! Once combined, use a mixer and beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until you see an almost white colour and the mixture is fluffy. At this point, taste the buttercream for sweetness. If you want more, just add some more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it is to your liking.
- When the cakes have COMPLETELY cooled, place the first cake on the plate, then take some frosting and spread evenly over the top. Then add the second cake on top and continue to frost all over the cake, or how you like. You can simply spread the frosting or use a piping bag if you would like a pretty pattern. You choose!
- Make up a cup of tea and enjoy!
Emily
Hello! does the cake have to be refrigerated after frosted?
Lovefoodies
Hi Emily, it is a butter frosting so if possible, it should be refrigerated so it is easier to cut.
Evelyn Foley
This looks so good. My mother’s 96th birthday is this Saturday. I will make for her.
Thank you for putting in American measurements.. I sometimes see recipes with grams and have no idea how much to use.
I can’t wait to try this.
Daniella
Would it be ok for me to put them in 9 inch pans instead I haven’t made it yet but I’m planning
Lovefoodies
Hi Daniela, yes you can use 9 inch pans. However, be aware the cakes won’t be as deep and the cook time will be a little less. Otherwise, it’s fine!
Daniella
Hello! I’m about to make it with my dad as a birthday cake and what cooking time would you recommend.
Lovefoodies
Hi Daniella, Happy Birthday to your dad!
If baking in 2 tins, 160C/ 325F for around 30 minutes.
Hope that helps. Enjoy your day
Sous
Hello there ive made this recipe 3 times in two weeks as its always amazing my daughter’s birthday ia in a week and i thought ill make that cake but instead of the chopped walnuts ill add sprinkles! Would that work?
Lovefoodies
Hi there, so happy you enjoy the cake! You can leave out the walnuts, no problem.
The only thing I am
Thinking with the sprinkles is they might dissolved into nothing when being cooked. So save some for the top if that happens and at least you can sprinkle them over the frosting!
Tania Dawson
Hi, just made this cake but used a loaf tin instead. Put it in the oven at the correct temperature, went to check it about an hour in and it was black. I have lost my taste and smell so couldn’t smell it burning. However, when I removed it from the tin it hadn’t cooked. I’ve had to put it back in with foil over the top and will skim the burnt top off. Any suggestions where I went wrong?
Lovefoodies
Hi Tanya, sorry to hear something’s gone wrong. I’m not sure what the problem could be other than is your thermostat on the oven correct? I ask this because everything else is the same as the recipe for 2 round pans, only the cook time for a loaf is around 45 – 50 minutes. There shouldn’t be any reason for your cake to turn out as you’ve described if you’ve followed the recipe. I make this cake many times. Perhaps check through the ingredients again and make sure you added the correct amounts of everything?
Sophia
This is my second time making this cake recipe I must say it is always amazingly fluffy and tasty. If you follow instructions with the cups you won’t go wrong. Every time I make it is enough for both containers and always bakes to a fluffy soft consistency! Thank you guys! 🙂
Mary
It’s been awhile since I’ve made a cake from scratch, but the measurements seem a little off to me. My cake turned out very dense and tasted way too salty, not sweet in the least. Also, as others have mentioned, it didn’t make a lot of batter. I went back over the recipe to make sure I did everything according to the recipe. Don’t think I’ll try this one again.
Connie Braswell
Will this recipe work with black walnuts
Lovefoodies
Hi Connie, yes of course! It’ll taste delicious!
pamela may
Will this recipe work in a 9 by 13 pan
Lovefoodies
Hi Pamela, yes it will but I would double up the recipe so you have some height to the cake. Enjoy!
Bakers
Why does the cake come out almost rubbery and dense? Certainly not able to sell to a customer. Its happened twice before too. And I doubled the recipe.
TL
Maybe it was caused by over-mixing the cake batter? I failed before on other cakes for this reason, the cake came out to be dense. Since then I’m more cautious not to over-mix, the cake came out to be light and fluffy 🙂
Jazmin
Absolutely delicious. Best moist. I made it a day ahead. I made a chocolate glaze. Yum yum!!!
Dollar
Made this as a birthday cake and it was amazing. Easy recipe to follow and will definitely make again. Thank you!!
Tanya
I want to make this cake non dairy, would vegan butter be ok to use?
Tanya akiva
I made the cake but it looked like i didnt have a lot of batter. i put it into 2 pans, but it seems like its enough only for one pan, my layers are thin and not thick like yours is
Lovefoodies
Hi Tanya, I’m just wondering, if you followed the recipe with the right quantities then was the pan size correct? If it’s a bit bigger then the cake will turn out thinner?
Tanya
Followed recipe and used same size pan. But once I put them together with icing, it doesn’t look so bad
Not as high as yours but still descent looking.
Tanya
Oh sorry mine are 9 inches, I just checked. Thought they’re 8, thank you for pointing that [email protected]
Katrinka Roberson
Absolutely agree–The cake was DELICIOUS but not enough batter to make a higher cake. Next time, I will double the ingredients and use the leftovers for cupcakes.
Tanya
4. Add egg mixture, a little at a time to the batter. By batter do you mean the butter and sugar?
Tanya
Hi, do you by any chance have a video on this?
Tracy
How do I get the frosting white? Mine was just slightly paler than the butter but still not white.
Lovefoodies
Hi Tracy, the trick to getting the frosting really pale is to beat it on a high speed and you will see it eventually turn almost white. Hope that helps!
Daniela
Thank you for the recipe! It turned amazing! I made it as a birthday cake and everybody said it was delicious!
My husband loves walnuts, so for him it was the gift of all the gifts!
Gomathi
Can I replace the walnut to macadamia nut? Will the result same?
Lovefoodies
Hi there, yes macadamia nuts will be lovely in this. The only difference will be the colour as macadamias are white but otherwise, it’s no problem at all. Please enjoy!
Neha Sharma
I read your recipe it’s simple and soon I’ll bake this cake.
Vineeta
Hi I have a question is the butter salted or unsalted
Lovefoodies
Hi Vineeta, you can use either, it will be delicious either way!
Kira
Hello! I’m very new to baking but I recently used your recipe and it turned out perfect! Thank you!
But I was wondering if I could substitute the walnuts for small chunks of chocolate? Maybe a chopped up Dairy Milk bar? Like I said, I’m new to baking so have no idea what affect the chocolate would have on the cake.
Lovefoodies
Hi Kira, glad you enjoyed the cake. You can of course swap for the same amount (or less if you wish) of chocolate. If you wanted to make the cake chocolate, you could also swap 3 tablespoons of the flour with cocoa powder and turn it in to a naughty chocolate cake too!! Hope that helps!
Kira
Oooo I think that’s exactly what I’ll do!! Thank you! I’ll be sure to check out some of your other recipes too!☺️
Christina McCain
Hi, I’m having a terrible time….my cake keeps coming out very dense and gets dry really fast. What am I doing wrong??? Pleeeeease help ☺️
Lovefoodies
Hi Christina, I’m sorry to hear about your cake. Let’s see if we can get you a fluffy cake!
The main thing is to get the air in the mix when you’re preparing. This is done in several ways, so make sure you do all these things ok?!
1. Sieve the flour
2. Make sure you add the baking powder to the flour as stated in the recipe.
3. When you mix the butter and sugar, (this is a key trick to a fluffy cake), make sure the butter is at room temperature so it’s nice and soft, and use what we call the creaming method. By this, you need to ideally use a mixer, and cream the butter and sugar until it becomes smooth and changes to a light, almost off white color. Normally, it takes around 5-7 minutes to cream it until it gets to this state. You can always check if you’ve creamed it enough by seeing if the batter is smooth, i.e you can’t feel any sugar granules, and also just by looking. The batter should be a lot paler in color.
4. Once you’ve added the milk and eggs, and you have the remaining flour to add, use a spoon or spatula, and GENTLY fold the flour in to keep as much air as possible. The easiest way to fold the flour in is to do like a triangular motion with the spoon, then turn the mixing bowl 90 degrees, and do another triangular motion. Keep the spoon motions light, and continue maybe 5 or 6 times until the flour is combined. Don’t lose patience here and just beat the flour into the batter as you will knock all the air out!
5. And finally, make sure your oven has reached the correct temperature before you pop the cake in, and whilst baking, don’t open the oven door until nearer the end of the cook time other wise the cake will sink and therefore knock out all that lovely air.
If you can make sure you follow those steps, (it sounds a lot but when you’ve done it, it’s not actually hard!), I see no reason why your cake shouldn’t be fluffy!
I hope that helps you and please do come back and update me on how you’ve got on!
Jeanne Louise Potter
Excellent Walnut Cake! The recipe was easy and the directions were perfect!
Brenda
Made this with a cream cheese frosting…deelish!
Ana
Hi! Do you think I can substitute the butter for oil? How would you recommned doing it?
plasterer bristol
i love this cake. My favorite. Thanks for sharing recipe. Simon
louise
can i use cake flour instead of flour and add walnut extract as well
Susan Francis Bott
I would bet this would be great using black walnuts. I may have to try it if my aunt’s tree produces this year! Thanks for the recipe!
Lovefoodies
Ooooh yes! Susan, if you can get hold of black walnuts then yes yes yes! Fabulous!!
Carolina Pereira
Hello!
Thank you so much for share with us this recipe.
I´m a big fan for this kind of cake.
Lovefoodies
Hi Carolina, you’re very welcome! I’m very happy you like it. It is one of my favourites with the combination of the walnut and the frosting. A nice fluffy soft cake. Please enjoy and thanks for taking the time to write in.
Katie
Hello, wondering what kind of espresso you are adding? Ground or instant powder, etc?
Thanks!
Lovefoodies
Hi Katie, I think you are looking at the wrong recipe (although this one is delicious too!). There is no coffee in this recipe, however, for my other cake recipes which do contain coffee, i.e the latte cake, Tiramisu cake, coffee pecan cake etc, you can use either espresso or ground coffee, and just make sure the liquid amount is the same as the recipe states. Obviously if you are using the instant powder, add enough hot water as stated in the ingredients so the granules dissolve. Hope that helps and Merry Christmas!
Vicki Evans
Hello, it does state in the blurb before the recipe that you can add 2-3 tablespoons of espresso coffee. Is this powder, grounds or liquid?
Thankz6
Vicki
Lovefoodies
Hi Vicki, you have the same surname as me!! For the coffee, it is measured in liquid form. I usually make a strong coffee and take a couple of tablespoons out to let cool for the cake and drink the rest! Hope that helps and please enjoy the cake. It’s delish!
Judy
WOW, Just discovered this site last night. It made me have sweet dreams. It is going to become my “go to” place for wonderful recipes for all kinds great recipes for every day and special events.
Lovefoodies
Thanks Judy! Glad you enjoy all the goodies!
Linda
Thank you very much Mary. When I bake this scrumptious cake I let you know.You have a lovely weekend too.
Linda
On step 4 you add half the flour, then milk. On your ingredients there’s no milk.Please tell me how much milk do you add? Thank you.
lovefoodies
Hi Linda,
oh gosh! Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I missed it off the recipe!!
It is 1/3 cup or 80 ml Milk, and I’ve updated it to be correct now.
Thanks so much, and I hope you will be able to try the recipe soon. It’s very soft and fluffy!!
Enjoy your weekend,
Mary
teresa
I think It’s too much
butter — isn’t it too greasy? 250 g butter vs 190 flour, have you tried a little bit less? 🙁 thanks