Honey Soaked Walnut Cake

Throughout our time in Greece a couple years ago we always sought out special, local delights tucked away in the cities we explored or dotted about the islands we traversed. We found one such unforgettable delight while strolling through the crowded squares of Athens, filled to the brim with markets offering fresh fruit, coffee shops emitting delicious aromas, and historic architecture dropping jaws at every turn. We passed by, as is often the case in Greece, a stunning Byzantine church built over a thousand years ago on our way to a famous, century-old dairy bar—among the very last of its kind. Its name literally translates to “sheepfold,” and it lived up to it in every way.

The delight we discovered was a delicate dish of sheep’s milk yogurt adorned with honey and walnuts. The yogurt was undeniably creamy and complex, but it was the honey and walnuts that really transformed this dish into something entirely unique. It really struck me just how much the walnuts and honey, which appeared at first to be mere toppings, actually enhanced the main portion of the dish so as to be equally important.

This was the first thing I thought about when I began considering what I could make with La Tourangelle’s walnut oil. Was there a way I could combine it with honey to contribute so much to the central portion of some creation that the creation itself wouldn’t be complete without it? I settled on a dense and delicious semolina cake with a bready, nutty, slightly sweet flavor. This was the perfect starting point for the inclusion of the walnut oil, which enhanced and elevated these flavors while adding a rich, buttery aspect. I simmered honey with orange blossom extract to create a sweet, citrusy glaze to pour over the cake. By perforating the entire top of the cake with tiny holes, it was able to soak up the glaze and become a moist, saturated, honey-infused delight worthy of my most cherished Athenian memories.

This was a thrilling way to borrow concepts used in a totally different dish in a totally different part of the world and apply it to something that regularly frequents my kitchen. I’m absolutely delighted it worked out so well. So here’s an encouragement to experiment with your recipes inspired by dishes emblazoned upon your memory—even if the context is a world away.

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

½ cup (110g) packed light brown sugar

1 tsp orange zest

½ cup fresh orange juice

3 large eggs

11/2 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup (60 g) sour cream

¾ cup walnut oil

1 ½ cup (188 g) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (84g) semolina

11/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cardamom

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

chopped toasted walnuts, for garnish

Honey Syrup

1/2 cup (170g) honey

1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar

1/2 tsp orange blossom extract *optional

1/2 cup water

pinch salt

Method

Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9-inch springform cake pan with butter or baking spray; line bottom of pan with parchment paper.

To a large bowl add both sugars and orange zest. Rub the orange zest into the sugar with your hands until fragrant.

To the same bowl add the orange juice, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream, and whisk until smooth. While whisking, slowly pour the walnut oil into the egg mixture until combined.

To a medium bowl, add the flour, semolina, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and whisk together until well combined.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two additions, and gently fold together until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared cake band and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.

While the cake is baking prepare the honey syrup. To a medium saucepan add the honey, sugar, blossom extract, water, and salt, and set over medium heat. Whisk the mixture to combine, then let come up to a simmer for 5 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from heat and transfer to a separate container.

Once removed, let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, then puncture the cake all over with a toothpick. While the syrup is still hot, slowly pour about 3/4 cups of the syrup over the cake. Make sure to move slowly at this point as you want all that syrup to soak into this dense cake. Save remaining syrup.

One the cake has completely cooled, top with chopped walnuts and drizzle each slice with a bit of the left over syrup. This cake happens to taste better the next days, so feel free to make a day ahead ;)

Enjoy!

Thanks to La Tourangelle for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own.