Walnut Cake 核桃蛋糕

Found this walnut cake recipe from a China website and modified it into a smaller cake size. The recipe does not have photo nor state the pan size. So I have to fill these gaps by guessing. Luckily, the cake looked good on the whole, except a bit over-baked at the base. I shall bake it at the middle rack instead of the lower rack of the oven in my next bake. I may substitute part of the butter by milk to lessen the fat content of the cake :)

P.S. This cake tasted better on the third day than it was fresh from oven. If you can wait, keep the cake in an air tight container in the fridge for a day or so. You'll understand what I meant ^^

Yield: one 18cm round cake

Cake mould: 6" or 7" round pan

Ingredients

80g top/cake flour 低筋面粉

1 tsp milk powder 奶粉

1/2 baking powder 泡打粉

1/8 tsp salt 盐

110g unsalted butter, softened 无盐奶油

10g fine sugar 细砂糖

3 egg yolks 蛋黄

1/2 tsp vanila essence 香草精

3 egg whites 蛋白

70g fine sugar 细砂糖

45g walnut, chopped 核桃，剁碎

30g chocolate chips 巧克力碎

Direction

1. Mix and loosen top/cake flour, milk powder, baking powder and salt using a hand whisk.

2. Cream softened butter till light. Add 20g of sugar and beat for about 5 minutes, using a hand whisk, or till creamy.

3. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, to the butter batter. 

4. Add vanila essence and blend well. Set aside.

5. In a clean, dry and grease-free bowl beat egg white till frothy, for about 15 seconds. Add in the sugar in 3 batches. 

 

6. Beat at high speed at the start and reduce to low speed towards the end of the process. Beat the meringue till almost reaching stiff peak stage, the meringue will stay in an inverted bowl without falling off.

7. Transfer about 1/3 of the meringue into the butter batter in (4). Fold to mix.

8. Pour the butter batter back to the remaining meringue and fold to mix.

9. Sieve flour mixture from (1), in 3 batches, into the batter. Fold to mix.

10. Fold in the chopped walnut and chocolate chips. Keep about a tablespoon of chopped walnut for decorating the cake surface later.

11. Pour the batter into a 6" or 7" round cake tin lined with parchment paper. Bang the tin lightly to even out the surface.

I used a 7" cake pan, so yield a shorter cake.

12. Arrange the tablespoon of chopped walnut on the cake surface to decorate 

13. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degree Celsius for about 35 to 40 minutes, or till the cake surface becomes golden brown, at the middle rack. Test with a thin skewer to ensure the cake is thorough cooked.

14. Let the cake sits in the cake pan for about 5 minutes before, removing it from the mould. Allow the cake to cool completely over before slicing it.

Enjoy :)

Recipe adapted from 

http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E6%A0%B8%E6%A1%83%E8%9B%8B%E7%B3%95