Monastic Walnut Cake

About This Recipe

This walnut cake comes from a tradition of monastery confectionery across Central and Eastern Europe, where religious communities produced sweets to sell at fairs and support their charitable works. Sweetened only with honey and perfumed with cinnamon, it keeps exceptionally well.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 200 gwalnuts(finely chopped)
• 3eggs
• 100 ghoney
• 80 gplain flour
• 1 tspcinnamon
• 1 tspbaking powder

Instructions

1. 1

   Beat eggs and honey

   Beat eggs with honey until pale and slightly thickened.

2. 2

   Fold in dry ingredients

   Fold in walnuts, flour, cinnamon, and baking powder until combined.

3. 3

   Bake

   Pour into a greased 20 cm tin and bake at 175°C for 30–35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

4. 4

   Cool and serve

   Cool in tin 10 minutes, then turn out. Serve in slices.

Variations

• •

  Add dried cranberries to the batter.

• •

  Use almond flour instead of plain flour for a gluten-free version.

Storage

Keeps at room temperature up to 4 days; improves over time.

Frequently Asked Questions