Walnut Cake

Yipee, this is my 50th post.. :)
In India, in some traditional-conservative house holds, using of eggs is a taboo. I feel food is something which we adopt as per the ingredients we get locally and geographically. In Europe they eat lots of meat because it’s the only staple food. Unlike in India, where we get loads and loads of fresh greens and vegetables, here in Europe they have to depend on the meat and milk products for food.


To most Indians, beef and pork are serious taboo, but here in Europe pork and beef meat are necessary and essential to keep them warm during winter times along with drinks such as beer and wine.
I feel its time for conservative Indians to look beyond their dining tables and try to understand that no food is a taboo. We don’t have to eat what they eat, but at least we should respect for what they have adapted here in this extreme weather conditions to eat and we as Indians should not undermine it as “dirty”. I am still vegetarian but I sometimes try to eat meat, if I don’t like it then I do not continue.


I decided that I will share some of the recipes of good baked items from European kitchens in my blog. But I am not trying to make my blog into a foodie blog.
Its Christmas time so I thought of sharing the cake I prepared yesterday.


I am fan of Rachel Allen who is a television chef and food writer. I watch her cookery show called Rachel Allen: Bake! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Allen:_Bake!)

This cake was initially written in the cookery book by Rachel Allen as “Italian Hazelnut cake”, but I used walnut instead of hazelnut because we had loads of them at home.

Ingredients:
• 200g walnuts (instead of Hazelnuts)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 100g butter softened
• 5 eggs separated
• 175 g caster sugar (I used granulated brown sugar instead)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract ( I used natural vanilla pods instead)
• Pinch of salt
• 20 cm diameter spring-form/Loose bottomed tin


Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degree C. Butter and line the sides and base of the cake tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Grind the walnuts with the baking powder and ground cinnamon in a good processor until fine. Add the butter and combine.

 











3. Place the egg yolk and the vanilla pods(which are black in color) in the bowl.

 












4. Use a hand-held electric beater or electric food mixer. Add the sugar and whisk until the mixture becomes slightly “moussey” and the mix holds a trail when you lift the beater.

5. Add the walnut mixture and whisk until combined.

6. Whisk the egg whites and salt together in a large and spotlessly clean bowl until stiff peaks form.

7. Then gently fold into the nut mixture into three stages so as not to deflate the whites.

8.  Pour the mixture into prepared tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for about 55-70 minutes until cake feels firm and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Te mixture is quite delicate so don’t be tempted to open the oven until close to the end of the cooking time.

9. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, and then very gently ease the sides of the cake out of the tin using a palette knife. Remove the base after 15 minutes and leave to cool before cutting into slices.

Hope you enjoy this yummy cake like we did.. :o)

Cheers.

Merry Christmas!