Midwestern Luxury = Black Walnut Cake
Midwesterner
<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d8e4!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb8c281a5-97d7-44ad-a95b-e37743663ccd_1718x1288.jpeg" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="1092" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d8e4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb8c281a5-97d7-44ad-a95b-e37743663ccd_1718x1288.jpeg" width="1456" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg fill="none" height="20" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><strong>In the United States, people say, everything is over-the-top, from advertising to politics to portion sizes. </strong>That’s indisputably true of the American black walnut.</p><p>A cousin to the mild English walnut—what most people consider a <em>standard </em>walnut—the black walnut has a flavor that <a href="https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/how_tos/8238-explaining-black-walnuts">a panel of Cook’s Illustrated tasters described as “grassy,” “floral,” “bitter,” and possibly rancid</a>. It’s intense. As the editors at Cook’s Illustrated concluded, it’s not for everyone.</p><p>Luxuries usually aren’t. That bold character, plus the time-consuming, finger-staining hulling-washing-curing-cracking-and-picking process<a class="footnote-anchor" href="https://midwesterner.substack.com/feed#footnote-1" id="footnote-anchor-1" target="_self">1</a> that gets the precious nutmeats out of the half-rotten fruits that are cluttering sidewalks and driveways near you, sets the black walnut apart as a rare and delicious treat.</p><p>To me, it’s the foie gras of the Iowa woods, the wagyu of the Ohio leaf pile, and the uni you can harvest by the bucket in your Missouri backyard, if you want to.</p><p>Earlier this year, my fiancée, Liz, a <a href="https://haterade.substack.com/">food writer</a> and <em><a href="https://midwesterner.substack.com/p/scotcheroos-for-skeptics">Midwesterner </a></em><a href="https://midwesterner.substack.com/p/scotcheroos-for-skeptics">contributor</a>, made me a birthday cake with layers of black walnut flavor. She paired chopped walnuts with a Missouri-made roasted black walnut oil that’s unique and useful enough to justify <a href="https://www.hammonspantry.com/products/black-walnut-oil-8-4oz-bottle">an online order</a>. (“You can swap the black walnut oil out for any neutral oil, but know that the cake’s flavor will be much more subtle,” she says.) She added a shot of <a href="https://midwesterner.org/how-to-make-black-walnut-nocino/">my homemade black walnut nocino</a>, a dark, bracing liqueur made from unripe nuts, which works as a complex complement to the vanilla extract.</p><p>The cake was rich and wonderful, and the improvised recipe turned out to be a gift in itself. We’ve used it a few times this fall, to celebrate black walnut season, refining it with each bake. Like many luxurious ingredients, black walnuts are best enjoyed simply, in a context that doesn’t distract from their precious flavor and texture. A fluffy yellow cake is an ideal vehicle for the nuts’ truffle-like depth.</p><div><hr /></div><h1><strong>Liz Cook’s Black Walnut Cake</strong></h1><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!C1je!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c82ac53-e607-434c-a75c-937f4b64a3b6_1024x768.jpeg" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="768" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!C1je!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c82ac53-e607-434c-a75c-937f4b64a3b6_1024x768.jpeg" width="1024" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg fill="none" height="20" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><em>Serves 10-12<br />Prep time: 30 minutes<br />Cook time: 45 minutes, plus 1 hour of cooling<br />Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes</em></p><p><em>Black walnuts have inspired a comically diverse array of tasting notes. To me, they taste like bubblegum—a fruity, high-key aroma that cries out for temperance. For that reason, I eschew a rich buttercream for this cake in favor of a pillowy <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/old-fashioned-7-minute-frosting">7-minute frosting</a>, which is mostly egg whites and sugar. However, this is a less stable frosting that should really be served right away. If you’d like to make this cake more than a few hours in advance, I recommend a traditional <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream-frosting-recipe">Swiss meringue buttercream</a> instead. </em></p><p><em>Also, please use weight rather than volume measures. They’re more accurate and more likely to give you exactly the delicious black walnut cake we’ve been making.</em></p><p><strong>Ingredients<br /></strong>3 eggs, at room temperature (150g)<br />1 cup + 2 tbsp. (250g) granulated sugar<br />4 tbsp. (60g) unsalted butter, melted and allowed to cool slightly <br />½ cup (100g) <a href="https://www.hammonspantry.com/products/black-walnut-oil-8-4oz-bottle">Hammons Roasted Black Walnut Oil</a>, or neutral cooking oil<br />1 cup (227g) buttermilk<br />2 tbsp. nocino (optional)<br />1 tsp. vanilla extract<br />¾ tsp. kosher salt<br />½ tsp. baking soda<br />2 tsp. baking powder<br />2 cups + 2 tbsp. (255g) all purpose flour<br />3 cups (460g) coarsely chopped black walnuts, divided<br />1 recipe <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/old-fashioned-7-minute-frosting">old-fashioned 7-minute frosting</a> (see note)</p><p><strong>Preparation<br /></strong>Preheat the oven to 350°F.</p><p>Combine room temperature eggs and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on medium-high until bubbly, about 1 minute.</p><p>Add butter, black walnut oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and nocino (if using) and whisk again just until combined, about 30 more seconds.</p><p>With the stand mixer running on low, add salt, baking soda, baking powder, and flour and whisk until no large clumps of flour remain. This should take no more than 30 seconds or so. </p><p>Remove bowl from mixer and stir in 1.5 cups chopped walnuts with a rubber spatula.</p><p>Pour into two greased, parchment-paper-lined 8-inch cake pans (if you have a kitchen scale, weigh the pans to ensure equal batter distribution). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cakes are domed and spring back lightly when pressed. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting, allowing at least 1 hour. Frost and decorate with the remaining 1.5 cups walnuts, pressing them into the sides.</p><p>Under a cake dome, the cake will keep for 3 days at room temperature. Note, again, that the 7-minute frosting will degrade within a few hours.</p><p><em><strong>Note: </strong>I strongly recommend lightly toasting the sugar for this frosting and amping up the salt to a full teaspoon. If you have nocino on hand, try adding that to the bowl along with the vanilla—I made mine with almost a full shot. It’s hard to overdo.</em> </p><div class="footnote"><a class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" href="https://midwesterner.substack.com/feed#footnote-anchor-1" id="footnote-1" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>You don’t have to do all that! I still use my <a href="https://midwesterner.org/a-better-way-to-crack-a-black-walnut/">Grandpa’s Goody Getter</a> every once in a while, but after years of working through my own buckets of black walnuts, I now lean on Stockton, Missouri’s Hammons Black Walnuts, the last large-scale black walnut processor in the world. (<a href="https://midwesterner.substack.com/p/stockton-missouri-is-the-black-walnut">Tony Rehagen wrote about the company for </a><em><a href="https://midwesterner.substack.com/p/stockton-missouri-is-the-black-walnut">Midwesterner</a></em><a href="https://midwesterner.substack.com/p/stockton-missouri-is-the-black-walnut"> in 2021</a>.) Hammons <a href="https://www.hammonspantry.com/collections/shop-hammons-pantry">sells walnuts online</a> and through many Midwestern grocery chains, under their own brand and store brands. The last time Liz made this cake, I bought the nuts at Hy-Vee, and when I was living in Ohio, I could always find black walnuts at Kroger.</p></div></div>