Walnut Cake

How many of you like the Walnut tea cakes from McRennet???
Well, this is as good as that.
My Grandmom is staying with us for a couple of days, and she absolutely loves this cake. So I went ahead and whipped this up last week for her. She was delighted. And she’s a picky person who just wouldn’t eat anything that does not taste good.

Walnut Cake Makes 6 slices

You will be needing

– 100gms plain flour
– 1/2 tsp baking powder and a pinch of baking soda. A pinch of salt perhaps?
– 100gms butter
– 100gms sugar. Powder it coarsely, helps it to combine easily. Saves a lot of time spent beating it to dissolve it.
– A generous splash of vanilla extract. What would I do without vanilla? 
– 1 large egg
– A handful of walnuts chopped up coarsely.
– Hot water, about 1/2 cup. Use as needed. Not the whole thing.  

Method
Quick method 
– Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter and line the baking tin.
– In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. If the butter is cold, leave the bowl covered to let the butter soften up a bit.
– When the butter has softened, beat with an electric mixer till everything is frothy and combined. Sugar must not be grainy any more, and the whole thing would go on to become a pale yellow colour.
– Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking salt directly into the above mixture. If you are adding a pinch of salt, add it to the mixture directly.
– Stir gently just to combine. Once combined, stop! Do not beat, use a spatula preferably.
– Add the chopped walnuts. 
– If the batter is too thick, add some hot water to thin up the batter to pouring consistency. Not too runny. And don’t beat!
– Bake at 180°C / 350°F for 25-30 minutes. A skewer inserted into the center should come clean. Let cool completely before removing from the tin.

Long method 
– First,  sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Keep it aside. The sieving makes the flour lighter and less dense. Sieving helps. It also helps distribute the baking powder over the flour. So sieve them all at least twice or thrice.

– Beat the egg till pale and frothy. I beat it with a few drops of lemon juice as the acid in lime helps stabilize the eggs. Packs the air in the air bubbles for a longer time. Then add the softened butter and sugar, and beat till very pale and creamy.

– Add the vanilla extract, and stir.

– Mix the sieved flour and fold. Don’t beat. Fold. Fold only till the flour is dampened with the egg mixture. Sometimes the mixture will turn out a little too stiff and dry. So if you feel that the wet ingredients aren’t wet enough for the flour, just add a little cold milk. Now add the chopped walnuts, halfway through the folding process, and fold till the entire mixture is combined.

– Pour into a baking tin, lined with parchment paper and buttered on all sides.

– Off it goes into a pre-heated oven at 180°C / 350°F for around 25-30 minutes. Start checking on it from 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when a metal skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, and not sticky.

That’s it! Enjoy your rich, and yet subtle walnut cake. There’s no need to ice this cake, and is perfect for tea time! The same recipe can be divided to make cupcakes.