Name: Walnut Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 1 cup or 250 g butter, softened; 1 cup or 200 g Regular or Castor Sugar; 1 1/2 cups or 190 g 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

Walnut Cake is a deliciously easy recipe. The cake is so soft and fluffy! There's also a recipe 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 is a delicious easy recipe. the cake is so soft and fluffy! Recipe also for a lovely vanilla frosting. You can make this a s a round cake or a loaf, instructions for both. Freezer friendly too!

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.

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It is a light, fluffy sponge cake, a bit like eating clouds, and the flavor 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! It's by far the best walnut cake recipe I know!

By the way, you can also add 2 - 3 tablespoons of Expresso coffee in the batter if you wanted a variation. See our Coffee Walnut Cake recipe. It's delicious! That is also a nice combination which I have made several times.

If you love walnuts, check out our delicious Walnut Butter Cookies. They go perfect with your morning tea or coffee!

Table of Contents 📋 hide

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 ½ cups or 190 g AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
⅓ cup or 80 ml Milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ Cups or 140 g Chopped walnuts

The frosting

5 oz or 150 g Softened Butter
2 ½ 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 color 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!

Recipe

Walnut Cake

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

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!

Ingredients

The Cake :

1 cup or 250 g butter, softened
1 cup or 200 g Regular or Castor Sugar
1 ½ cups or 190 g AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
⅓ cup or 80 ml Milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ Cups or 140 g Chopped walnuts

The frosting:

5 oz or 150 g Softened Butter
2 ½ 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

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.

** 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!

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.

For the Buttercream Frosting:

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!

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 566Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 134mgSodium: 500mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 1gSugar: 42gProtein: 6g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate

Celebration Cakes

Here's a great selection of celebration cakes perfect for a party!

Cranberry and Pecan Christmas Cake

Cranberry and Pecan Christmas Cake, loaded with delicious fruits and Spiced Rum. A perfect treat for Christmas.

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake

Coffee Walnut Sandwich Cake.
The best coffee and walnut cake, a classic British afternoon tea cake, layers of soft and fluffy coffee cake with chopped walnuts throughout, adds a great flavor and texture, frosted with coffee cream cheese frosting. A pure delight to eat!

Categories: Cakes Desserts International Recipes Tapas / Party Food

Share your thoughts

93 thoughts shared

Neha Sharma
says:
May 15th, 2019 at 9:42 am

I read your recipe it’s simple and soon I’ll bake this cake.

Reply
Vineeta
says:
May 8th, 2019 at 10:38 am

Hi I have a question is the butter salted or unsalted

Reply
1. Lovefoodies
  says:
  May 8th, 2019 at 10:44 am
  
  Hi Vineeta, you can use either, it will be delicious either way!
  
  Reply
Kira
says:
March 18th, 2019 at 3:55 pm

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.

Reply
1. Lovefoodies
  says:
  March 18th, 2019 at 4:01 pm
  
  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!
  
  Reply
  1. Kira
    says:
    March 18th, 2019 at 4:59 pm
    
    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
says:
February 14th, 2019 at 9:23 pm

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 ☺️

Reply
1. Lovefoodies
  says:
  February 15th, 2019 at 8:32 am
  
  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!
  
  Reply
Jeanne Louise Potter
says:
December 1st, 2018 at 3:06 pm

Excellent Walnut Cake! The recipe was easy and the directions were perfect!

Reply
Brenda
says:
September 21st, 2018 at 3:19 pm

Made this with a cream cheese frosting…deelish!

Reply
Ana
says:
May 25th, 2018 at 3:14 pm

Hi! Do you think I can substitute the butter for oil? How would you recommned doing it?

Reply
plasterer bristol
says:
June 6th, 2017 at 4:50 pm

i love this cake. My favorite. Thanks for sharing recipe. Simon

Reply
louise
says:
April 23rd, 2017 at 2:15 pm

can i use cake flour instead of flour and add walnut extract as well

Reply
Susan Francis Bott
says:
April 14th, 2016 at 6:36 pm

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!

Reply
1. Lovefoodies
  says:
  April 14th, 2016 at 10:44 pm
  
  Ooooh yes! Susan, if you can get hold of black walnuts then yes yes yes! Fabulous!!
  
  Reply
Carolina Pereira
says:
February 20th, 2016 at 7:56 pm

Hello!
Thank you so much for share with us this recipe.
I´m a big fan for this kind of cake.

Reply
1. Lovefoodies
  says:
  February 20th, 2016 at 9:33 pm
  
  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.
  
  Reply
Katie
says:
December 23rd, 2015 at 8:12 pm

Hello, wondering what kind of espresso you are adding? Ground or instant powder, etc?
Thanks!

Reply
1. Lovefoodies
  says:
  December 23rd, 2015 at 9:06 pm
  
  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!
  
  Reply
  1. Vicki Evans
    says:
    October 2nd, 2018 at 3:54 pm
    
    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
  2. Lovefoodies
    says:
    October 2nd, 2018 at 3:58 pm
    
    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
says:
November 18th, 2015 at 12:28 am

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.

Reply
1. Lovefoodies
  says:
  November 18th, 2015 at 8:15 am
  
  Thanks Judy! Glad you enjoy all the goodies!
  
  Reply
Linda
says:
August 22nd, 2015 at 10:12 am

Thank you very much Mary. When I bake this scrumptious cake I let you know.You have a lovely weekend too.

Reply
Linda
says:
August 22nd, 2015 at 9:00 am

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.

Reply
1. lovefoodies
  says:
  August 22nd, 2015 at 9:22 am
  
  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
  
  Reply
  1. teresa
    says:
    October 13th, 2017 at 4:52 am
    
    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
  2. Nisreen
    says:
    November 3rd, 2020 at 12:23 am
    
    Hello! Would love to make this cake in a 10inch pan. Should i double the recipe?
  3. Lovefoodies
    says:
    November 3rd, 2020 at 6:15 am
    
    Hi Nisreen, yes do double it for a 10 inch! Please enjoy it’s a delicious cake😁