Chocolate Walnut Cake
Submitted by happyzhangbo
A light, spongy chocolate walnut cake with ground toasted walnuts, cocoa, and cinnamon, split and filled with orange marmalade. No butter needed in this elegant European-style torte.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
45 minREADY
4 hrsGround toasted walnuts take the place of most of the flour in this airy, elegant cake. It’s more torte than layer cake, with a spongy crumb that comes entirely from whipped eggs.
A whisper of cinnamon runs through the cocoa-laced batter, and the whole thing gets split in half and spread with orange marmalade for a bright, jammy contrast.
No butter. No oil. Just eggs, nuts, and a little flour doing all the work.
Kitchen Tips
- Toast the walnuts before grinding. It deepens their flavor and keeps the ground nuts from turning into paste in the food processor.
- Fold the egg whites in gently and in stages. They’re the only leavening, so treat them with respect.
- Start at a higher temperature and reduce once the cake goes in. This gives the outside structure while the inside stays tender.
- Let it cool completely in the pan before unmolding. This cake is delicate and needs the full 2 hours.
Variations
- Swap orange marmalade for apricot jam or seedless raspberry preserves.
- Use hazelnuts instead of walnuts for a more Viennese-style torte.
- Top each slice with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Lightly greese and flour a 9-inch springform pan, tapping out any excess flour.
Crack 2 eggs into a large bowl.
Separate 2 more eggs, placing the whites in a second large bowl and adding the yolks to the bowl with the whole eggs.
Separate the remaining 4 eggs, adding the whites to the other whites (reserve the 4 yolks for another use.)
Now you should have 6 whites in one bowl, 2 whole eggs plus 2 yolks in the other bowl.
Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer at high speed until foamy.
Beat in ⅓ cup sugar until soft peaks form. Set aside.
Clean and dry the beaters.
Add brown sugar and the remaining ⅔ cup sugar to the eggs and yolks and beat with the mixer at medium speed until thick and light in color, 2 to 4 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, add the toasted ground nuts and vanilla, keep beating until combined.
Beat in flour, cocoa powder, salt and cinnamon just until combined, scraping down the sides as needed.
Fold in 1 cup of the beaten whites with a rubber spatula until smooth, then fold in the remaining whites with very gentle arcs, just until incorporated (some white streaks may still be visible).
Gently pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Place the pan in the oven and reduce heat to 325℉ (160℃).
Bake the cake until set, puffed and spongy but nonetheless firm, 40 to 45 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 2 hours.
As it cools, the cake will shrink away from the sides of the pan.
Remove the pan’s side.
Release the cake from the pan’s bottom using a long, thin, metal spatula and carefully transfer it to a serving plate.
Slice the cake horizontally into two layers with a long, thin knife.
Gently lift off the top.
Spread the marmalade (or other jam) over the bottom layer and replace the top.
Do not press down.
Sprinkle with powered sugar just before serving.
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