Maple Walnut Pound Cake

I've been making this maple walnut pound cake for years, decades really, and it's still my favorite of its kind. It was about time I shared it with you guys again!.

Pound cakes in themselves are amazing with their dense, tight crumb.

This has a hefty dose of ground walnuts in the batter which makes it even more interesting. As far as food pairing goes, this maple walnut cake is definite proof that those two are a fantastic match.

I have a nice, constant obsession with piling up cookbooks and food magazines. When it comes to recipes, I put little marks to remember the ones I like. And I'm proud of my memory in remembering where they came from, even after decades. So I go straight to the place where I'm so certain the recipe is, completely sure of myself.

Then spend the next three days going through every magazine I own, looking for an unmarked recipe I made years ago that I just have to take another look at because, suddenly, I feel it will be perfect to bake right now, like with this maple walnut cake. So much for the hours spent putting colored bits of paper everywhere.

I did find the recipe for the maple walnut cake I remembered, and it is a great one.

Origin of pound cake

Pound cake originated in France and was made with only four ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. A pound of each! Can you imagine that? Heavy would be a big understatement I imagine. This was before ingredients like baking powder were discovered.

It is the famous French cake quatre quarts (which means four quarts) due to the number of ingredients and the fact that it was a quarter (or pound) of each.

Maple syrup (extracted from the maple tree) is not well known here (Buenos Aires). It sometimes makes an appearance at high-end supermarkets or specialty stores, but there's no certain availability. So, when I get my hands on a few bottles of the stuff I don't use them thoughtlessly. It's one of those flavors that's next to impossible to duplicate easily.

Substituting it is fine in terms of texture, but that deep, smoky, not too sweet characteristic flavor would be missing.

And I don't want a walnut cake. I want a maple walnut pound cake.

Other similar recipes you might like:
Carrot birthday cake with maple frosting
Candied pumpkin cheesecake with maple cream
Chocolate swirl walnut pound cake
Glazed walnut olive oil apple cake

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think about it. Thank you for being here, I appreciate it! Let’s connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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Maple Walnut Pound Cake

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A wonderful pound cake, chock full of ground walnuts and maple flavor.

• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 8 slices

Ingredients

Units USM

For cake:

• 1 ¾ cups (215g) coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
• 2 ¼ cups (315g) cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups (280g) unsalted butter, room tº
• 1 ¼ cups (250g) sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• ¾ teaspoon maple flavoring (optional)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
• 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon maple extract (optional for added flavor)
• Walnut halves for decoration

Instructions

For cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Butter and flour 12-cup Bundt pan.
2. Finely ground walnuts in processor.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl
4. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
5. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Beat in maple syrup, maple flavoring (if using), and vanilla extract (batter may look curdled).
7. Mix in dry ingredients. Fold in ground walnuts.
8. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake cake until the top is golden and a tester inserted near the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
9. Transfer pan to rack; cool cake for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
10. Drizzle the glaze (below) and let it drip down. 
11. Place walnut halves on top and wait until it dries before cutting and serving. 
12. Store leftovers covered in plastic wrap for 2 days at room temperature and then refrigerate. 

For glaze:

1. Mix powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of syrup. 
2. Add more syrup until you have the consistency of thick honey. The glaze should be creamy and smooth. 
3. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for a few weeks. 

Notes

You can sub almonds for the walnuts, but it really is not the same.

• Author: Paula Montenegro
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 60
• Category: Cakes
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: International

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/10
• Calories: 800
• Sugar: 42.3 g
• Sodium: 161 mg
• Fat: 53.4 g
• Carbohydrates: 71.5 g
• Fiber: 3.1 g
• Protein: 15.2 g
• Cholesterol: 167.9 mg

Keywords: maple pound cake, walnut bundt cake

Adapted from an old Bon Appetit Magazine