Nut Cake

by Nyani-Iisha Martin

This can be made with any kind of nut, but it's nut-intensive, so I'd recommend cheaper kinds unless you want to really splurge.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups broken nutmeats, skinned if necessary (for instance, almonds and hazelnuts should be skinned, but walnuts don't have to be)

1 cup flour

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 stick salted butter, softened to the point of melting (but not all melted, if possible)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp to 1 tbsp appropriate flavoring (for instance, 1/2 tsp almond extract; 1 tbsp walnut oil; 2 tsp hazelnut syrup; and so on.)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

 

Note: double the next four quantities if making two cakes instead of one:

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick

1/3 cup each honey and sugar

whole nuts for garnish

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a small ring pan or two 8-inch round or heart-shaped pans.

Place the broken nuts, flour, baking powder, and 1/2 cup sugar in a food processor (if you have a blender, this mixture may gum it up. Blend the nuts with the eggs, butter, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice instead). Grind as fine as you desire (I try to let the nuts stay a little coarse, for texture.). Set aside.

Beat the butter with the remaining sugar; add the eggs, vanilla, flavoring, and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Beat very well. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until mixed; turn into prepared pan(s) and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes for a ring pan and 35-40 for two pans; bake until a cake tester emerges with only a very few crumbs, if any, clinging to it, and go by that rather than by the clock.

Meanwhile, put the honey, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, and cinnamon stick into a saucepan, and reduce over medium high heat until half volume. If desired, toast whole nuts in a frying pan and add to glaze, swirling to coat; otherwise, once cake(s) have been removed from oven and put on serving plates, arrange nuts on top(s) and pour glaze over. Let set for at least two hours, preferably overnight, and serve at room temperature.

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