Royal Walnut Cake is beautiful and delicious! The Russian buttercream frosting will surprise you. Everything about this walnut cake is good! (Video Recipe) YOU CAN DO THIS! | natashaskitchen.com

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This Royal Walnut Cake is as pretty as it is irresistibly delicious! The Russian buttercream frosting made with sweetened condensed milk is tantalizingly good! Keep an eye on the whisk that mixes the cream – someone else will surely try to lick it! Ha! Truly it’s delicious and like no other buttercream you’ve tried before!

This recipe is sponsored by Fisher Nuts and the cake is loaded with toasted walnuts which infuse the cake with rich flavor. I kept the decorations simple so even if you’re not super skilled in the cake decor department, YOU CAN DO THIS!!

You could simplify it even more by omitting the ganache and just coating in finely chopped nuts all around which would be beautiful but I thought the ganache was a nice touch for the holidays and a flowing layer of chocolate sauce never hurt anyone! 😉

Big thank you to our friends at Fisher Nuts for sponsoring this recipe – I trust Fisher brand because they don’t use preservatives and are non GMO project verified! Its the nuts and only nuts – just like you had popped them out of the shell yourself, minus all the effort and blisters. lol. You’ll recognize the right nuts by their bold blue “Fisher” brand bags.

Watch How to Make this Royal Walnut Cake:

Since the frosting is a buttercream, it is best served at room temperature when the frosting is soft. You can make this cake even 2 days in advance, cover and refrigerate and then bring to room temperature before serving. I have this same cake in the freezer (saving it for Christmas!) I just love make-ahead desserts and if you’re into that sort of thing, you’ll be surprised this dessert is also freezer friendly!

Royal Walnut Cake is beautiful and delicious! The Russian buttercream frosting will surprise you. Everything about this walnut cake is good! (Video Recipe) YOU CAN DO THIS! | natashaskitchen.com

Everything about this cake is good. Simple, but so good! I hope it makes your holiday’s more merry and bright!

Royal Walnut Cake is beautiful and delicious! The Russian buttercream frosting will surprise you. Everything about this walnut cake is good! (Video Recipe) YOU CAN DO THIS! | natashaskitchen.com

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Royal Walnut Cake (VIDEO Recipe)

4.95 from 73 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
This Royal Walnut Cake is truly delicious and loaded with toasted walnuts from top to bottom. The Russian buttercream frosting made with sweetened condensed milk is tantalizingly good!
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 14 slices, from a 9" cake

For the Walnut Cake:

For the Russian Buttercream:

For the Simple Cake Syrup (stir these ingredients together):

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 3 Tbsp rum, I used Bacardi golden rum*

For the Chocolate Sauce/ Ganache:

  • 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips, (1/4 lb by weight, or 2/3 cup by dry measuring cup)
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

How to Make the Royal Walnut Cake:

  • Toast 2 cups walnuts on a dry skillet over medium/high heat until fragrant and golden (5 minutes), tossing often. Cool to room temperature then finely chop or pulse in food processor.
  • Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line the bottoms of two 9" baking pans with parchment paper (do not grease the pan). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat eggs for 1 minute until foam. With mixer on, add 1 cup sugar in a steady stream then beat on high speed 8 minutes. Batter will be fluffy and a thick ribbon will form when you lift up batter.
  • Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder and sift it into the egg mixture in 3 increments. Gently fold in 1/4 of your cooled chopped nuts and divide batter evenly between 2 prepared pans. Bake right away in fully preheated oven at 350˚F for 23-28 min(I find it's perfect at 25 min). Let rest in the pans 5 min then run a thin spatula or knife around the edges of pan to loosen cake and transfer cakes to wire rack to cool completely to room temp.

How to Make Russian Buttercream:

  • In a small sauce pan, off the heat, whisk together 2 egg yolks, 3/4 cup condensed milk, 1 Tbsp water, and 1/2 tsp vanilla until smooth.
  • Place over low heat. Continue stirring frequently and stir constantly as it starts to thicken – DO NOT BOIL. When it’s ready, it will be the consistency of uncooked sweetened condensed milk. Total time on the stove: 5-7 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and let custard cool completely to room temp. It will thicken more as it cools.
  • Beat softened butter in a mixer with whisk attachment for 5 minutes on high speed until white and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add room temp custard mixture 1 heaping Tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed for a few seconds with each addition. Once all of the custard is incorporated, scrape down the bowl and beat another 2 minutes on high speed. Reserve 1 cup of cream and set aside (you'll use this to coat the top and sides of cake). Fold in 1/4 of your toasted cooled nuts into remaining big batch of cream.

Assembling the Walnut Cake:

  • Line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment paper (this will make cleanup easier). Place first cake layer on the platter and spoon half of the syrup evenly over the top. Top with all of your walnut buttercream and spread evenly. Add the next cake layer and spoon the remaining syrup over the top. Coat the sides and top of the cake evenly with remaining 1 cup of buttercream.
  • Apply the remaining finely chopped walnuts to the sides of the cake only, scooping it on with your hand and gently pressing for the nuts to adhere to the frosting. Now make your ganache (see below). Once ganache has rested 5-10 minutes, spread it evenly over the top of the cake, allowing some of it to drip down the sides of the cake. Let cake rest until ganache is set (you can refrigerate 30 min if desired).

How to Make Chocolate Ganache:

  • Place 1/4 lb of chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Pour 1/2 cup heavy cream into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. When it's just at a uniform simmer, pour over the chocolate chips ensuring chocolate is fully submerged in cream. Cover bowl with lid and let sit at room temp 15 min then whisk until a silky chocolate sauce forms. Let ganache rest 5-10 min to thicken slightly but still be loose enough to pour over the cake and drip down the sides.

Notes

*if you don't want to use rum, add a splash of vanilla or 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or add it to taste

Nutrition Per Serving

557kcal Calories41g Carbs8g Protein41g Fat19g Saturated Fat168mg Cholesterol57mg Sodium249mg Potassium2g Fiber30g Sugar919IU Vitamin A1mg Vitamin C102mg Calcium2mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Royal Walnut Cake (VIDEO Recipe)
Amount per Serving
Calories
557
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
41
g
63
%
Saturated Fat
 
19
g
119
%
Cholesterol
 
168
mg
56
%
Sodium
 
57
mg
2
%
Potassium
 
249
mg
7
%
Carbohydrates
 
41
g
14
%
Fiber
 
2
g
8
%
Sugar
 
30
g
33
%
Protein
 
8
g
16
%
Vitamin A
 
919
IU
18
%
Vitamin C
 
1
mg
1
%
Calcium
 
102
mg
10
%
Iron
 
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Russian
Keyword: walnut cake
Skill Level: Medium
Cost to Make: $$
Calories: 557

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fisher nuts. The opinions and text are all mine. I hope this beautiful walnut cake gives you great holiday inspiration!!

Royal Walnut Cake is beautiful and delicious! The Russian buttercream frosting will surprise you. Everything about this walnut cake is good! (Video Recipe) YOU CAN DO THIS! | natashaskitchen.com

We are all about generous slices! I hope you and your family love this Royal Walnut Cake!

Royal Walnut Cake is beautiful and delicious! The Russian buttercream frosting will surprise you. Everything about this walnut cake is good! (Video Recipe) YOU CAN DO THIS! | natashaskitchen.com

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

Read more posts by Natasha

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Comments

  • Nevzeta
    March 14, 2024

    Hello dear, can I use stevia instead of granulatet sugar for this cake. Thank you🌸

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      March 14, 2024

      Hi Nevzeta! I have not tested a sugar substitute. Please let us know how it turns out if your experiment.

      Reply

  • Mila
    July 8, 2022

    I just finished making it. Came out just like I like it, not too sweet, but with a very good flavor, I bet it’ll be even better tomorrow. Thank you for sharinging the recipe.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 9, 2022

      You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Mila!

      Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      July 9, 2022

      You’re so welcome, Mila. I’m glad to hear that.

      Reply

  • Michele
    June 20, 2022

    I was very worried after tasting the buttercream, because all I could taste was butter. Once everything was assembled, my family loved the final result. I made 1/4 of the syrup because I found 1 cup of water made the cake layers too moist from the other recipe I used. In Canada, the sweetened condensed milk can is 300 ml 10.7 ounces) so I used the whole can. Thank you for another winner, my family said I could definitely make it again!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      June 21, 2022

      Good to hear that it was a success! Thanks for trying this recipe, I’m glad your family enjoyed the cake!

      Reply

  • Preeti
    April 21, 2022

    I tried this one. It came out soo well!! amazing Walnuty -chocolaty flavour

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      April 21, 2022

      Awesome! Thanks for your great comments and feedback.

      Reply

  • Jason
    January 14, 2022

    The cake came out good in the end, but my sponge cake layers tasted a little weird and plain, also the buttercream tasted too much like butter. Overall it was a great cake but im wondering what I did wrong for the next time.

    Reply

  • Renee
    November 26, 2021

    Hi Natasha,
    At what point in this recipe would you freeze it if you were making it in advance? Fully frosted with the chocolate ganache? Thank you

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      November 27, 2021

      Hi Renee, I refrigerate first to get the cream and ganache to set, so it’s easier to cover with plastic wrap, then I put the entire decorated cake in the freezer 🙂 I hope that helps!

      Reply

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