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.
Tina says
My cake came out quite dense – is it because the egg to flour ratio is less? I added 1/4 cup of hot water to bring the batter to consistency.
Tina Dawson says
Dense cake – hmm….Did you use softened butter, and whisk until the sugar and butter have creamed smooth and the egg has whipped up to a very buttercream like consistency? After adding flour, you should mix or beat the batter too much, because it’ll activate the gluten and that’s usually the culprit for dense, chewy cakes.
Soni says
Hi, salt is optional?
Tina Dawson says
Absolutely optional!
Vijay says
Will this measurements leads to half kg cake
Tina Dawson says
No, you may have to double the recipe.
Manasa says
Hi Tina, mcrennet walnut cake s my favorite but if I double the quantity , can I double everything in the whole recipe ??
Thanks
Tina Dawson says
Yes, I believe this recipe can be doubled. Use an 8″ round or square baking tin for the doubled recipe. Baking time and temperature remains the same.
megs says
Tried the quick method this evening and it turned out brilliant! Fantastic Recipe, so Thank you!!
Tina Dawson says
Awesome! I’m so glad to hear that!
HinVin says
This is exactly the recipe I was looking for! Thanks.
And yes, I am a biggg fan of Mcrenett walnut cake.
Neo says
i love these