This milk chocolate walnut cake is buttery, moist and soft with a hint of black walnut extract and delicious texture from crunchy walnuts. It's frosted with a creamy milk chocolate walnut buttercream frosting. A 1x batch yields 1 6" three-layer cake, and a 2x batch yields 1 8" three-layer cake cut out with cake rings using the Cut and Stack Method. Or choose a different pan size by visiting my recommended cake pan chart.
Servings 8servings
Prep Time 20 minutesmins
Cook Time 22 minutesmins
Cake Layering Time 25 minutesmins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
177 grams (1 ¼ cups + 1Tablespoon)All-Purpose FlourI use Gold Medal
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 1" tall ¼ sheet pan with parchment paper, then lightly spray the bottom (on top of the parchment) and sides of the pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Using a sifter or fine mesh strainer, sift the Dry Ingredients except for the brown sugar into a large bowl, then whisk until well blended. Add the brown sugar and continue to whisk, breaking up any brown sugar lumps with your fingers if needed. Combine Wet Ingredients in a separate large bowl and whisk until smooth and well-blended.
Pour the Wet Ingredients over the Dry Ingredients, then immediately (before stirring) add in the apple cider vinegar. Whisk everything together--the apple cider vinegar will bubble slightly as it reacts with the wet and dry ingredients. Pour the melted Butter into the batter and whisk until smooth, uniform and lump-free.
Reserve about 3 Tablespoons of chopped walnuts, then fold the remaining chopped walnuts into the cake batter. Pour the chocolate walnut cake batter into the ¼ sheet pan and smooth out the batter until even (an offset icing spatula works well for this). Sprinkle the remaining 3 Tablespoons of chopped walnuts evenly over the cake batter.
Bake on the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of the preheated 325-degree oven for 22-26 minutes, or until a toothpick or paring knife comes out clean (watch closely towards the end of baking). A couple of moist crumbs on your knife are fine, but they shouldn't look wet. Some ovens may require a longer baking time, and 2x batches may take a few more minutes in the oven.
The delicate cake will be easiest to layer from cold or frozen--allow the cake to cool, then wrap the cake in the pan thoroughly in plastic wrap. Freeze the cake in the pan for at least 2 hours or up to 2 weeks ahead of time (brush the cake with simple syrup if freezing for more than a couple of days--see Note #2).
Make the Chocolate Walnut Buttercream Frosting
Whisk the powdered sugar and Cocoa Powder and Instant Clerajel together until well-blended. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer (preferred) or handheld mixer and a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until broken up and softened.
Add the room temperature salted butter and continue to beat until there are no lumps, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the butter flavored shortening and beat and scrape the sides until the mixture is smooth without lumps.
While the mixer is on low, slowly add the powdered sugar mixture.
Add the pure vanilla and black walnut extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then beat the buttercream on high for two-three minutes. This will add air into the buttercream and make it light and fluffy. The Instant Clearjel will cause the buttercream to thicken slightly during the next 10 minutes as it sits.
Layer, Decorate, and Serve
The easiest way to layer this chocolate walnut cake is to layer it from frozen the day before you plan to serve it. If serving the cake the same day you are layering it, use refrigerated cake layers instead of frozen. Cut the cake layers with cake rings as described in How to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro.
Layer the cake with the chocolate walnut buttercream. An offset icing spatula (I use the small and medium-size on all my cakes) helps with this. Repeat with the second cake layer. The remaining cake scraps can be used for delicious chocolate walnut cake truffles if desired.
I recommend frosting a thin crumb coat of buttercream on the outside of the cake which will catch all the crumby edges, then allow it to set up in the freezer for about 10 minutes until the buttercream is firm, before adding the final coat of milk chocolate buttercream.
Microwave the prepared chocolate ganache until thin, and drizzle down the sides of the cake using a spoon or squeeze bottle. The remaining chocolate walnut buttercream can be used to pipe rosettes with a 1M star tip and disposable piping bag. Decorate the cake with chopped walnuts or walnut halves and chocolate curls.
You can let the cake set up in the fridge, but remove it from the fridge 2-3 hours before serving so it can come back to room temperature (avoid warm temperatures). This delicious chocolate walnut cake has the best texture at room temperature. Enjoy!