Armenian Nutmeg Walnut Cake ... the most delicious walnut tea cake!
An addictive, warm, spicy Armenian cake with pleasing overtones of nutmeg and walnut. Simple to make and rustic in appeal, it’s a beautiful tea cake to serve. We enjoyed it warm and chilled too! {Minimally adapted from Jason @ Daily Candor}. Serves 12-14
Ingredients
- 250 ml milk
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g walnuts divided
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 320 g brown sugar
- 150 g unsalted butter chilled, cubed
- 1 egg {optional}
- 1 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease an 8″ springform tin {or line}. I used a dessert ring and lined it with foil.
- Mix the baking soda into the milk and set it aside.
- Place the flour, 50gm walnuts and baking powder in the bowl of your processor and pulse until the walnut is ground {4-5 times}
- Add the brown sugar and pulse a couple of times to mix.
- Now add the chilled butter and process until you get a breadcrumb like mix. {You can do this by hand too, but a processor is far quicker and easier}
- Divide this into half. Press half {435gm approx} into an 8″ springform tin, pushing up some into the sides if you like. Else pat firmly to create a base.
- In the bowl of the processor, add the milk-baking soda mixture to the remaining biscuit mix with the egg and freshly grated nutmeg, and process for 2-3 minutes till you have a smooth batter.
- Pour this batter over the pressed crust, and sprinkle 25gm walnuts on top. They will sink into the rather ‘liquidy’ batter. Toss the remaining walnuts in a tsp of flour, and sprinkle on top gently.
- Bake the cake at 180C for about 35 to 45 minutes till the top is a golden brown or till a skewer pushed through the centre of the cake comes out clean. { Mine took about an hour}
- Cool the cake in the tin before demolding. It is best eaten while still warm, though we enjoyed it cold too.