Happy Birthday, Erin! Walnut Cake #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz #giveaway

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  This cake is an example of a photograph selling a recipe. We aren’t big cake eaters, and Walnut Cake, by itself, wouldn’t scream “eat me!” But each recipe in Laura Washburn’s The French Country Table is accompanied by a lovely photo, and each recipe we’ve tried has not only turned out well, but closely resembles the professional photos. This is a lovely, nutty cake, not too sweet, iced with a soft, light caramel that melts in the mouth. 

The center of my cake sank slightly and was not as thoroughly baked as the rest of the cake, which I attribute to altitude—we’re at about 3,400 feet. Next time, I’ll add 1-2 tablespoons of flour, but keep the heat and baking time the same. Mountain friends, you're warned. 

I made this for my birthday earlier this month. Tomorrow is Erin Murphy’s birthday—yes, she shares it with that other, better known fellow. To celebrate, I’ll give one lucky reader winner’s choice of any of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries. Leave a comment below to join the party.    

By the way, I can assure you that when Mr. Right said this goes well with coffee for breakfast, he’s right. 

Walnut Cake — Gâteaux aux noix

Adapted from The French Country Table by Laura Washburn

Cake

1 stick, plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeded with a small sharp knife

4 large or extra-large eggs 

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1-2 T above 3,000 feet) 

1 cup walnuts, ground

10-12 walnut halves, to decorate cake top

Caramel Frosting 

½ cup sugar

a squeeze or a few drops of lemon juice

3 T water

2/3 cup heavy cream

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 inch round cake pan.

Beat butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Scrape in the vanilla seeds. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Gently stir in the flour and ground walnuts. Spread into cake pan.

Bake 30 minutes, or until golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly, then turn on to a flat surface and turn again onto your serving plate. Allow to cool before frosting.

To make the caramel, in a small, heavy saucepan, cook ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and water over medium heat, stirring until mixture turns a light caramel color, about 10-12 minutes. Pour in the cream slowly, careful of spatters. Stir over heat until blended, cooking another 2-3 minutes. 

When the cake is cool, slowly pour the caramel over the cake in a thin, even layer. (If you’d rather not have a slight rim of caramel around the edge of the cake, place it on a wire rack, with a baking sheet beneath to catch the drips.) Place 8 walnut halves around the cake, so each piece is decorated with one walnut half, and cluster 3-5 in the center of the cake. 

Allow cake to sit 2-3 hours before serving, so caramel can set. 

Serves 8. 

Tell me, friends, has a photo ever convinced you to make a recipe you'd have otherwise glossed over? What's your favorite (edible) birthday treat? Leave a comment (with your email address) for a chance to celebrate Erin's birthday -- and mine! -- and win your choice of a Food Lovers' Mystery. (Mr. Kitten will pick the winner Thurs, March 18.)  

From the cover of BITTERROOT LAKE, written as Alicia Beckman (coming April 13, 2021 from Crooked Lane Books in hardcover, ebook, and audio): 

When four women separated by tragedy reunite at a lakeside Montana lodge, murder forces them to confront everything they thought they knew about the terrifying accident that tore them apart, in Agatha Award-winning author Alicia Beckman's suspense debut.

Twenty-five years ago, during a celebratory weekend at historic Whitetail Lodge, Sarah McCaskill had a vision. A dream. A nightmare. When a young man was killed, Sarah's guilt over having ignored the warning in her dreams devastated her. Her friendships with her closest friends, and her sister, fell apart as she worked to build a new life in a new city. But she never stopped loving Whitetail Lodge on the shores of Bitterroot Lake.

Now that she's a young widow, her mother urges her to return to the lodge for healing. But when she arrives, she's greeted by an old friend--and by news of a murder that's clearly tied to that tragic day she'll never forget.

And the dreams are back, too. What dangers are they warning of this time? As Sarah and her friends dig into the history of the lodge and the McCaskill family, they uncover a legacy of secrets and make a discovery that gives a chilling new meaning to the dreams. Now, they can no longer ignore the ominous portents from the past that point to a danger more present than any of them could know.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Watch for her first standalone suspense novel, Bitterroot Lake (written as Alicia Beckman) in April 2021 from Crooked Lane Books.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by her website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.

Walnut Cake from Vicki Delany

I love to bake, but as I live alone, I rarely get the chance to do so. I love the Great British Baking Show and the Great Canadian Baking Show, but I don’t make what I see on the shows, mainly because I have no one to feed the end results to.  I made this walnut cake that I saw on an older show for Thanksgiving this year. 

This recipe is from Mary Berry. I’ve adapted it for North American measurements and ingredients, and I used buttercream icing on the top and sides as well as in the center, rather than boiled icing for decorating as the recipe suggests.

 So here it is.  Vicki Delany’s version of Mary’s frosted walnut layer cake.

Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

CAKE:

2 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¾ cup walnuts finely chopped

1 cup (225 g)  butter, softened

2 ¼ cups icing sugar

4 large free-range eggs, beaten

 ICING:

1 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

4 cups icing sugar

 

DECORATION:

1 cup walnuts, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 320 degrees. Grease 3 x 20cm/8in cake tins and line the base of each tin with baking parchment.

Mix the flour, baking powder and walnuts together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs a little at a time.

Fold in the flour mixture. Divide the mixture equally between the 3 tins and level the surfaces.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the cakes are golden-brown and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes then turn out, peel off the parchment and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Combine all ingredients to make the icing.  Add more sugar or milk to get the correct consistency. 

Use icing between the layers and on the top of the cake. Spread on sides, if desired and if you have enough.

Sprinkle top with walnuts