Greek Spiced Walnut Cake - 希腊肉桂核桃蛋糕

Yesterday was one of my colleague's last working day in the company. To bid farewell, he bought us a delicious hazelnut cream cake. The cake is light and moist with  aroma of cinnamon. Everyone likes the cake,  and some of my colleagues even said the cake reminded them of my walnut cake! It's really a compliment to me.

Actually, my walnut cake does not have cinnamon in it. I love the flavor of cinnamon, maybe it's a good idea to add cinnamon to the walnut cake.  Searched internet,  I was attracted by a spiced walnut cake recipe from Cook Me Greek . It uses 5 spices, and the texture is light and moist.  The recipe calls for less butter, but quite many eggs. In addition, it requires beating the egg whites separately from egg yolk.  That makes the cake rise high. Though my quick-and-easy walnut cake is my favorite, which is rich and nutty, I am keen to explore this Greek Walnut Cake (Karydópita).

I followed exactly the recipe except for the semolina flour as I don't have it at home. As for the syrup, I am a bit hesitate on the amount of sugar (700g) used. Hence, I boiled the maple syrup instead.

The cake smells great whilst baking. The cinnamon and nutmeg give off wonderful aromas.  Cut the cake into small cubes, serve warm or cold, it's so flavorful with the syrup topping!




GREEK SPICED WALNUT CAKE

Ingredients

-150g butter softened
-250g granulated sugar ( I reduced to 200g)
-4 eggs (yolks separated from whites)
-200g lukewarm milk (I used low fat fresh milk)
-250g self-raising cake flour
-50g semolina flour (I used all-purpose flour )
-½ teaspoon baking soda

-170g finely chopped walnuts
-½ teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon 5 spice mix or cinnamon and clove mix (I used ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ½ teaspoon nutmeg)
- ½ cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, slat, cinnamon and nutmeg .
2. Cream the butter, sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg yolks one by one, beating continuously.
   
   
   
   
   
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff . Set aside.
4. Add milk , walnuts and the flour mixture to the batter; beat until well combined.
5. Fold in half the egg whites gently with a spatula until they are well mixed into the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites gently, and then pour the batter into the baking pan.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Bake for 50-60min or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool completely.
   
   
   
   
   
8. In a sauce pan over medium heat, bring the maple syrup to a boil. Turn to low heat,  let it simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until the syrup is reduced to 1/4 cup .
9. Pour it slowly all over the cooled cake.

Note: You can also decorate the cake with some hazelnut butter cream.

Recipe adapted here.