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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!
Everything about this cake is good. Simple, but so good! I hope it makes your holiday’s more merry and bright!
Royal Walnut Cake (VIDEO Recipe)
Ingredients
For the Walnut Cake:
- 2 cups walnuts, halves and pieces
- 6 eggs, (large), room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
For the Russian Buttercream:
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, (2/3 of a 14 oz can)
- 2 egg yolks, (large)
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter , (3 sticks), softened at room temperature
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
Nutrition Per Serving
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!!
We are all about generous slices! I hope you and your family love this Royal Walnut Cake!
I need help! The ganache ran on one side but no where else. The whole cake looks sloppy. And by the way, this is the first Russian cake I’m making 😳 And tomorrow I have guests! How do I make it look presentable and not a disaster???
It sounds like your ganache did not firm up properly. Did you follow the proportions as written out, measuring the chocolate chips correctly? Also, did you use heavy whipping cream and not just regular whipping cream? And finally, did you wait long enough for the ganache to firm up so that it’s not watery? Based on how you’ve described it, I would scrape away any excess chocolate and sprinkle all over with finely chopped nuts to cover the surface of the cake.
Yes. That is what I will do. Cover all the disaster sides with nut powder. Thank you so much!
Everyone loved the cake! Thank you for the recipe. And I covered the uneven sides with a mixture of toasted walnuts and crushed graham crackers. It looked fabulous!
Oh I’m so glad to hear that!! And the idea of adding crushed graham crackers is brilliant! Happy 2017 to you and your family!
Hello!! Im always trying out your cakes!!! Alot of your salads and main courses also!! This cake was a HIT!!! I made your cherry Christmas cake for the same party. That was also amazing!! Thank you for the great recipes. Will tag you on FB for pics as no instagram (: Thank you again!!!
Ksusha, thank you for such a rave review on the cakes and you are very welcome 😬!
Hi Natasha!
My chocolate ganache never thickens like yours. Any helpful tips? I also use milk chocolate chips.. could that be the reason why? Thanks!!
It’s a possibility – I’ve never tried it with milk chocolate. Also, are you weighing the chips and measuring them correctly, plus are you using HEAVY whipping cream rather than just whipping cream? The higher fat content makes a difference in how it thickens. You might try a Tablespoon or 2 less of the cream and see if that solves the problem.
Can I use pecans with walnuts? Or shouldn I just get 2 cups of walnuts?
Hi Oksana, I think pecans would work fine for this recipe if you wanted to substitute.
I made this cake for our family Boxing Day get-together and it was fabulous. Everyone loved it. Thank you for sharing it with us!
I am glad your family enjoys it as much as mine does! Thank you for sharing Carla 🙂
Made this cake for our family Christmas dinner! Everyone loved it! I was worried that the cream would taste way too buttery, however in the cake, you couldn’t even taste the butter! Thanks again for such a delicious recipe! 🙂
I am so happy to hear that! This cake recipe IS so decadent!
Wow omg mmmmm yummm Natasha my mouth is watering right now lmao BTW great job on the video such a natural on camera definitely gotta make this sometime for chanukah thanx for keeping us all up to date merry Christmas happy hols stay warm cheers darlin
Tzivia, thank you for such a nice compliment, you are the best! 😬
Awwww sweet hun cannot wait to try my hand @ this cake
HI Tzivia, Thank you and I hope you love it!! I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend and I want to wish you a very happy New Year!!
Hi I have a question when you freeze your desserts when do you defrost them like I’m planning to make a cake can I defrost it day of or the day before?
Hi Ruslana, it would work to defrost it the morning of your dinner but to be safe, I put it in the refrigerator the night before and now it’s sitting at room temperature for 4 hours since I want the buttercream to soften before tonights big dinner.
K do you think a souffle cake would taste good if frozen too, I wonder if it will affect that type of cake.
I’ve never tried freezing a soufflé cake, so I can’t say how that would work. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Thank you for your quick reply. Merry Christmas to you guys.
Never mind found the rest of the recipe once i refreshed my page. weird. Sorry about that!!
Oh good! It must have gotten stuck – I’ve seen that happen before. Thank you and I hope you love the cake! 🙂
I’m making this cake right now and for some reason not fully understanding the directions. in the assembly of the cake section, it says to first spoon over the syrup and than the buttercream. What syrup though? I am not seeing the rest of the recipe? Please let me know. Also, I can’t play the video for some reason, says error
Hi Vitaliya, please see the ingredients list:
“For the Simple Cake Syrup (stir these ingredients together):
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup warm water
3 Tbsp rum – I used Bacardi golden rum*”
I’m not sure why the player is showing an error – that is strange! What browser and device are you using (desktop, phone, chrome, safari?) I’m not getting an error message but I’d like to figure out what the problem is and get it fixed right away! Thank you for letting me know! In the mean time, if you are still having trouble, try watching it over on our youtube channel.
Hi Natasha! Thank you for all your wonderful work! Just made this cake for Christmas and it will be delicious I’m sure! I’m not someone who bakes, but the video and thorough instructions made it very doable! Now I feel like a proper Ukrainian woman, who can bake a cake! 😉 Merry Christmas to you!
That’s awesome! 🙂 Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi Natasha,
Since I noticed you like to use condensed milk, I just came across a Chocolate Glaze using:
⅔ cup condensed milk and 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped. Stir condensed milk and chocolate in a pot over medium-low heat until melted and shiny.
I haven’t used it yet, but I will give it a try for sure.
Ady
Wow that does sound nice!! If you try it first, let me know how you like it 🙂
Hi Natasha, another masterpiece! Thanks so much. Question: is the sponge pliable? I’m looking for a Buche recipe with walnuts,in and out.
Thank you for that amazing compliment! The sponge is pliable :). I do have this Buche posted but it doesn’t have nuts inside, but I do think it could be adapted since it is basically the same sponge cake base. I hope that helps!
HI Natasha,
Thanks for the Post,
You have done a good recipe that I likes , can I taste it? cant wait !!
its so yummy.
hope to read Your next Post.
Best of luck
😉
Thank you Jack! Merry Christmas 🙂
Oh no! Not vinegar! But Vanilla!!! Or any citrusy juice like white grape juice or apple juice…
made this for my husband’s birthday today, i was looking to make him something he really likes 🙂 this is so good. i never get disappointed with your recipes 🙂 love Natashas kitchen 🙂
I am glad you enjoyed it as much as I do Claudia! Thank you 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for such a wonderful review and Happy Birthday to your husband!! 🙂
Do you freeze it all assembled and decorated? Or just the individual cake layers and then assemble it after it thaws?
You can do it either way. I have the entire cake in my freezer 🙂 and I’m going to thaw it at room temperature for our family Christmas dinner. You can also freeze just the cake layers before applying any syrup or frosting. I place a sheet of parchment between the layers and wrap loosely but fully in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer, making sure nothing is sitting on top of it or it will get deformed (speaking from experience) ;). The the cake layers and assemble when you’re ready for it :). I love having this sponge cake in the freezer for quick cake making! I hope that’s helpful!
How long will it last pre-assembled in the freezer? Do you simply put it in a large enough tupperware?
I can’t wait to try this!
Hi Lamia, yes, it lasts 2 to 3 months. You can put it in a large tupperware. I put it on a plastic platter, wrapped fully in several layers of plastic wrap and froze it. It’s much easier to wrap it without damaging the cake if the cake is refrigerated and firm first.
Yummy. This cake is SOO good Natasha! Great job on decorating. I’m intimidated by choclate glaze and u made it look easy!
It IS so easy Anna and so very decadent! Thank you for sharing your review!
That cake looks absolutely BEYOND, Natasha! Merry Christmas =)
It is so decadent, you would love it! Merry Christmas to you too Sara!
I love walnut and this recipe is so easy and seems delicious! best part i found is the video section and i have noted down all the ingredients to try it later. when i was watching the video i was thinking to skipping the rum and found it in your note that i can replace it easily with vinegar. thank you so much 🙂 i will let you know after making one 😀
It is delicious! Merry Christmas 🙂