Black Walnut Cake

Dad didn't like a lot of cake.  About the only one he did like was a black walnut cake.  Unless you have tasted black walnuts I wouldn't suggest you try this unless you are a food adventurer!!  We like it as we were raised on it but black walnuts have a strong and distinctive flavor.  Nothing else tastes like them.

My sister Linda was asking me about if I had a recipe for this and I think I remembered this as the correct one.  It calls for lemon zest and almond flavoring and Mom just used vanilla instead.  I remember this specifically.  Anyway our family has a get together planned and I thought I would make it up in Dad's memory.

This is not a tall cake and it is an old recipe and made the old way.  It is a dense and flavorful cake by today's box cake standards.

Ingredients:
1/2 C. soft butter
1 C. sifted sugar
2 C. cake flour
3 t. baking powder
3 egg whites
2/3 C. milk
1/2 t.almond* (we used vanilla)
Grated rind of lemon*  (we omitted this)
1/4 C. chopped black walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and butter and flour 2,  9" round cake pans. 

Cream the butter and add the sugar, continue to beat.  Sift flour once, measure then add the baking powder and sift 3 times.   Add alternately to the butter and sugar mixture with the milk.  Beat thoroughly until smooth.  Add flavoring.  Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are light but not dry.  Fold very carefully the beaten egg whites into the batter.  Add the walnuts chopped fine and fold in quickly.  Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes and remove layers from pans.  Cool completely before frosting. 

4 C. powdered sugar
3 T. soft butter
2 t. vanilla
1/4 C. heavy cream

Beat all ingredients well and add additional cream a drop at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.  Frost the cake and store under a cake dome.   Yield 12 slices.

This recipe was adapted from the 1947 version of the Settlement Cookbook by Mrs. Simon Kander.