Walnut Cake

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 125 g sugar
• 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 125 g Whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 100 g ground walnuts
• 2 tbsp coffee liqueur (or rum)
• 200 ml whipping cream
• 3 sheets white gelatin
• 500 g mascarpone
• 50 ml cooled strong espresso
• 150 g sugar
• 2 tbsp coffee liqueur (or rum)
• 12 half walnut kernels
• 1 tbsp chopped walnuts
• 0.5 tsp poppy seeds (or black sesame)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) with upper and lower heat.

2. 2.

   Line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper. Separate the eggs for the batter. Whisk the yolks with sugar, vanilla sugar, and lemon zest until fluffy. Beat the whites stiffly, then fold them into the yolk mixture. Sift together flour, baking powder, and cocoa; add to the egg mixture along with the walnuts, gently folding to form a light dough. Pour into the springform pan and bake for about 35 minutes until golden brown (check with a toothpick). Transfer onto a rack, let cool completely, then cut horizontally once (with a knife or string). Drizzle the lower base with 2–3 tbsp liqueur.

3. 3.

   Whip the cream stiffly. Soak gelatin sheets in cold water. Mix mascarpone with espresso, sugar, and liqueur. Melt gelatin in a saucepan, remove from heat, stir in 2 tbsp of the coffee cream with the gelatin, then return to the remaining mixture. Stir smoothly, then fold in the whipped cream carefully. Spread half of the filling over the cake base and top with the second sponge layer. Cover the entire cake with the rest of the filling. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

4. 4.

   For serving, place walnut halves as decoration on the cake, sprinkle chopped walnuts and poppy seeds over the top.