No shade to pumpkin spice cakes and treats—I do love a custardy pumpkin bread pudding—but I’ve been eager for a change. I wanted to make a cake that scratched the itch for a casual cold-weather dessert, but also branched out a bit. I pushed the Libby’s away, and instead, reached for a bottle of maple syrup and a bag of shelled walnuts. This is my browned butter maple walnut cake, and I’ll be making it all winter long, thank you very much.
I used my Ninja food processor to make the toasted walnut flour (it’s quick and worth it), and to blend most of the ingredients together, which makes the recipe easier overall. What makes this cake special isn’t a fancy technique or difficulty level—it's actually not hard to make at all—but how the flavors are stacked, one heavy hitter after another. You start with browned butter, add in toasted walnut flour, layer on malty maple syrup, splash in tangy buttermilk, and finally finish it all off with a (technically optional) tipple of bourbon.
Start by browning the butter in a pan while you toast the walnut pieces in the oven. Neither takes very long to do, but once they’re finished, both components can sit off to the side and come to room temperature while you measure out the other ingredients. Use a pastry brush to thoroughly butter the bundt pan (or whichever pan you choose to use), then flour the pan well. The nutty batter is interested in sticking to the pan, so do not skip this step.
The result is a really special cake. Its tender crumb is a perfect balance of sweet maple, toasty butter, and bitter walnut. The bourbon perfumes the cake and complements the walnut flavor. I prefer cakes like this to be unfrosted because I like unceremoniously grabbing a slice and snacking on it as I walk around the house, but I added a simple maple icing to give folks the option—it takes a moment to whisk together and if you love maple, it hits the spot.
You can make this cake any time of year, but the combination of flavors makes it distinctly cozy. It’s perfect with light snowfall and a warm companion beverage.
This cake gets better as it sits. Keep it covered at room temperature for up to five days.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 ½ cups (about 10 ounces) shelled walnut halves and pieces, toasted
4 tablespoons butter (plus some for buttering the pan)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup maple syrup
4 tablespoons bourbon, whiskey, or rum (optional, or you can use less)
¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup olive oil
2 eggs, room temperature
For the frosting:
3 tablespoons butter, soft
¼ cup maple syrup
1 cup powdered sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a bundt pan. Pour the walnuts onto a baking sheet and spread them out into a single layer. Toast them in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping the nuts about halfway through. The nuts are done toasting when they smell walnutty and have lightly browned. Cool to room temperature. Save eight to 12 nice-looking walnut halves for decoration.
2. While the nuts are toasting, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a pan—preferably stainless steel so you can see the bottom—and allow it to bubble away. When the butter is no longer bubbling vigorously and you see the bits at the bottom turn dark brown, take the butter off the heat. Cool to room temperature.
3. In a food processor, add half of the flour and the toasted walnuts. Pulse until the nuts have become fine. Add the rest of the flour and blend until the nuts are almost like sand. All together this will take about a minute or less. Add the baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Pulse a few times to mix, and dump it all out into a big bowl.
4. In the same food processor, pour in the maple syrup, room temperature browned butter, brown sugar, bourbon, buttermilk, olive oil, and eggs. Blend until well combined and smooth. Pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake the cake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes. The cake is finished once it develops a nice crack along the top and springs back when you press the center. You can also use the toothpick test since the cake will be flipped over later. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes. Loose the sides with a paring knife or spoon (if your bundt shape has curves), and flip it out onto a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
6. To make the icing, whisk the soft butter and maple syrup together in a bowl. Whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth. You can adjust for a thicker or thinner icing by adding more sugar or more maple syrup. Dollop the frosting onto the cooled cake. Tap it against the counter if you want the frosting to run gently down the sides. Dot the top with the saved walnut halves and enjoy.
