Spanish Nut Cake

OK, I admit that this recipe isn’t truly Spanish any more. It started out life as a Spanish walnut cake recipe that I came across in the early nineties, but it’s wandered a bit since then. As it happens, I could tell you an interesting story or two about a Spanish nut, but that was more than thirty years ago and I’m sure Carmen will have calmed down by now. I know I have.

This cake is great with tea but, I think, goes even better with coffee. Or maybe even a small sherry. It will also work well as a dessert with a little dash or two of something creamy. Although the walnuts and pecans combine well in this cake, you could adjust the ratio and type of nuts as the mood takes you and, if you don’t have any Frangelico, feel free to substitute another liqueur or even a flavoured syrup. This cake is pretty filling so expect to get at least 12 slices unless you’re really hungry.
Spanish Nut Cake
125 g butter, softened
250 g caster sugar
5 eggs, separated
125 g plain flour, sieved
1½ tsp baking powder
zest of ½ lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
2 tbsp Frangelico
100 g pecans, crushed (not too small)
100 g walnuts, crushed (not too small)

Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter and line a 23cm round cake tin.

Cream the butter and sugar together thoroughly. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, followed by the flour and baking powder. Stir in the lemon zest, vanilla, Frangelico and the nuts.

Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold in gently but thoroughly.

Put the mixture into the prepared tin, level it out and bake for about 40 minutes. A knifepoint inserted into the cake should come out clean when it’s done. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the tin before turning out to cool completely on a rack.
Spanish Nut Cake

Comments

  1. Alida30 May 2012 at 21:48

    I must say, all the cakes you make are really, really good. I'd love to take a bite at this now and nut cakes are just so full of flavour. Bookmarking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Vanessa @ Cakes and Teacups30 May 2012 at 23:26

    Yummm...You always post scrumptious cakes. It'll be nice to sit out in the garden and have a slice or two : )

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown31 May 2012 at 00:36

    Mmm pecans and walnuts. I can taste it now. Would be amazing crushed into an ice cream!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous31 May 2012 at 10:00

    Cake and sherry will nearly always be a winning combination! Just a quick note to say I've nominated you for the Excellence in Storytelling blogger award. You can see the post here: http://foodlovefood.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/an-award-nomination/ Also, http://foodstoriesblog.com/food-stories-award/
    This recipe is going on my ever increasing list of things to make!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phil in the Kitchen1 June 2012 at 23:16

      Many, many thanks for thinking of my blog - I'm truly pleased and honoured.

      Delete
  5. Choclette1 June 2012 at 11:51

    Cake looks delicoius Phil, but I want to hear more about your Spanish nut ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phil in the Kitchen1 June 2012 at 23:21

      Well, maybe one day after a few refreshing drinks I might be persuaded to divulge one or two anecdotes (if I can remember them).

      Delete
  6. Snowy1 June 2012 at 21:55

    I love cakes with nuts in, so another one to try. It looks so good Phil.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Diane3 June 2012 at 09:16

    I love nutty cakes and yes I agree this sounds like it would be perfect with coffee. We have a cappuccino/chocolate drink here that sounds perfect for it. Yum yum Diane

    ReplyDelete
  8. Diane3 June 2012 at 09:19

    My comments keep disappearing but trying once more!
    I love cakes with nuts in them and I agree it sounds like it would be good with coffee. We get a cappuccino/chocolate mixture here which would be good with it :) Have a great day. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ozlem's Turkish Table4 June 2012 at 13:41

    Love cakes with walnuts, and yours also has my other favorite ingredient, lemons! a must try, already dreaming about it with coffee!
    Ozlem

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anna's kitchen table7 June 2012 at 22:12

    Ooh, now that looks really good Phil! :))

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Sorry but I've had to switch word verification on due to a vast amount of very depressing spam.

Popular posts from this blog

Palestine Soup

Image
Palestine soup has nothing whatever to do with Palestine. It seems to have been given that name because it’s made with Jerusalem artichokes. Jerusalem artichokes have nothing whatever to do with Jerusalem and aren't artichokes. Anything that odd just has to be good. In fact, it’s one of my favourite vegetable soups and it so happens that it’s also very easy to make and, thankfully, low in fat. I first came across Palestine soup in cookery books dating back to the early 1900s, but I think the dish is a fair bit older than that. Most recipes combine the Jerusalem artichokes with turnips or potatoes, which maintain the creamy white colour of the finished soup. I like to add carrot, which provides a nice touch of sweetness but does change the colour. (Unless you can find a heritage variety of white carrot). A few years ago, Mark Hix published a Palestine soup recipe with some hazelnuts added, inspired by Auguste Escoffier’s ‘Purée de Topinambour’. The hazelnuts enhance the flavour
Read more

Hollygog Pudding

Image
For this month's Random Recipe challenge Dom of Belleau Kitchen has asked us to come up with desserts and to pick a random recipe from one of our cookbooks dedicated to desserts, cakes or puddings. I suppose it just proves that I like more general cookbooks, but after a quick search through the bookshelves I found only one such book: “The National Trust Book of Traditional Puddings” by Sara Paston-Williams, published in the eighties. (Although this particular book is now out of print the National Trust currently sell several books that cover much the same ground and seem to be derived largely from this original collection of recipes). There were two recipes on the randomly chosen page in the book: I could have selected a roly-poly pudding, but who could turn down the opportunity to make something called Hollygog pudding? The original recipe comes from Kiddington in Oxfordshire and, in fact, it is a kind of roly-poly pudding filled with golden syrup and cooked in milk. Not the
Read more

Duck Apicius

Image
Ever since I picked out a modern interpretation of an Apicius pork dish in Dom’s first ever Random Recipe challenge (and that was quite a while ago now) I’ve been playing around with some of the other recipes (I use the term loosely) in this text from ancient Rome. Since my Latin is a little rusty, I’ve lazily resorted to translations I’m afraid. A brief QI style digression: There are actually ten “books” in the Apicius writings that (sort of) add up to a complete treatise on cooking. The books are named in honour of Apicius, who was known for his love of fine food, but were actually compiled long after his death. And I think that’s more than enough facts for now. You need a fair amount of imagination with some of the “recipes” in Apicius: there are few exact quantities given or methods described and some of the ingredients, such as the plant silphium or laser , no longer exist.  So I feel justified in bringing you a fairly free adaptation of an Apicius sauce for duck (or, as A
Read more