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This easy walnut cake recipe is rich, buttery, and perfectly moist, with ground walnuts in every bite. If you love walnuts, you’ll love this simple and delicious recipe—perfect for tea time or dessert! Check out my video guide and tips below to make the perfect cake every time.
Walnut Butter Cake
Two of the most popular baking recipes on Rasa Malaysia are Butter Cake and Brownie Butter Cake, and I’m always excited to try new butter cake variations.
I love simple cakes—rich, buttery, and just sweet enough—the kind that fills the kitchen with the incredible smell of baking. This walnut cake is exactly that, with ground walnuts adding extra flavor and texture to every bite.
If you’re looking for an easy walnut cake recipe, this one is a must-try. It’s soft, moist, and packed with nutty goodness—perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. I love how simple it is to make, yet it tastes like something straight from a bakery. Whether you love walnuts or just want a buttery, classic cake, this is the best walnut cake recipe you’ll ever bake!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Rich and buttery. The salted butter and vanilla give this cake a rich, buttery flavor that’ll make every bite melt in your mouth.
- Moist and tender. Thanks to the milk and a little care in mixing, this cake stays soft and moist for days. No dry cake here!
- Packed with nutty goodness. Ground walnuts throughout the cake give it that perfect nutty flavor, and the whole walnuts on top add a nice crunch.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This walnut butter cake calls for simple ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salted butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature so it creams smoothly with the sugar.
- Vanilla extract
- Sugar – I used fine granulated sugar, or castor sugar.
- Eggs – Make sure your eggs are at room temperature so they blend seamlessly into the batter.
- Walnut – If you want to switch things up, almonds or hazelnuts are a great option too. For the topping, whole walnuts are perfect, but pecans also work really well. When grinding your whole roasted walnuts in a food processor, there’s no need to turn them into a fine powder—just pulse them until they’re a little grainy for the perfect texture.
- Milk – I used whole milk, but you can swap it with sour cream or yogurt if you’d like. Just use the same amount and let it come to room temperature for easy mixing.
For all the details on each ingredient, be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Recipe Variations
Here are some other cake recipes you will like:
- Butter Cake – Keep it simple and classic! Just skip the walnuts for a rich, buttery cake that melts in your mouth.
- Brownie Butter Cake – A fudgy brownie base with a buttery cake layer on top—why choose one when you can have both?
- Blueberry Cake – Swap out the walnuts for juicy blueberries, and you’ll get little bursts of sweetness in every bite.
- Raisin Cake – Soft, buttery, and studded with sweet, chewy raisins. Simple but so good!
How To Make Walnut Cake
First, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Grab two mini loaf pans and grease them with butter so nothing sticks. Then, sift the flour and baking powder together and set it aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, vanilla extract, and sugar until it’s light, fluffy, and pale—this should take about 4 minutes with a hand mixer on low speed. Then, add the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is fully mixed in before adding the next. Take your time with this step—it helps make the cake nice and airy!
Gently fold in the flour, ground walnuts, and milk until everything is well mixed—don’t overmix, just enough to bring it all together. Pour the batter into your greased pans and give them a little shake to even it out. Now, sprinkle the whole walnuts on top for that extra crunch!
Pop it in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Once it’s done, take it out and let it cool on a wire rack. When it’s cool enough to handle, loosen the edges, remove the walnut butter cake from the pans, and slice it up. Time to dig in!
Secrets To Perfect Walnut Cake Every Time
- I always let my butter, eggs, and milk come to room temperature before starting. It helps everything mix together better and gives the cake that perfect smooth texture.
- When I fold in the flour, ground walnuts, and milk, I make sure not to overmix. I just mix until everything is combined to keep the cake light and airy.
- Roasted walnuts make such a difference! If I’m using raw walnuts, I quickly toast them in a pan to bring out that extra nutty flavor.
- After baking, I let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack. It helps the cake set and keeps it from breaking apart when I slice it.
Frequently Asked Questions
I wouldn’t recommend using cake flour. It’ll make the cake too soft and delicate. All-purpose flour gives the best texture. If you’re set on using cake flour, you might need to add a bit more to get the right consistency.
No, the cake would be too soft and crumbly since walnut flour has no gluten. It’s best to use a mix of all-purpose flour and ground walnuts for the right texture.
You could use self-raising flour and skip the baking powder, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The cake’s texture might end up a bit off, so I prefer sticking with all-purpose flour and adding my own baking powder for better control.
To keep the walnuts from sinking, I like to toss them in a little flour before adding them to the top of the cake. This prevents them from sinking in the cake while it bakes.
Yes, this walnut butter cake actually gets better after a day or two! You can totally bake it ahead of time, just let it cool completely, then wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container at room temperature. It’ll stay fresh and delicious for a few days.
Yes! Just double everything, but keep an eye on the baking time. If you’re using additional mini loaf pans, they should bake up the same. For a larger pan, you might need a few extra minutes—just check with a toothpick to make sure it’s done.
If your walnuts are burning, it might be because the oven’s too hot or the walnuts are too close to the top heating element. Try turning the temperature down a bit, or cover the cake with a piece of foil halfway through baking to keep the nuts from getting too crispy.
Store your cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you need it to last longer, pop it in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Each slice of cake is only 298 calories.
What To Serve With Walnut Cake
Serve this cake with your favorite beverage. For an afternoon tea, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Walnut Cake
Ingredients
- 4 oz. (125g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4.5 oz. (130g) salted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 oz. (90g) fine sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 oz. (60g) walnut, processed in a food processor until fine
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 oz. (30g) whole walnut, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease two mini loaf pans with butter. Sift the flour and baking powder, and set aside.
- Cream the butter, vanilla extract, and sugar until fluffy and pale (this takes about 4 minutes using an electric hand mixer at speed 2). Add the eggs one at a time, creaming well after each addition before adding the next.
- Fold in the flour, ground walnuts, and milk, mixing until well combined. Transfer the batter to the greased pan and gently shake it to level off. Sprinkle whole walnuts on top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the walnut cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Loosen the cake from the loaf pans and slice it into pieces.
Video
Notes
- I always let my butter, eggs, and milk come to room temperature before starting. It helps everything mix together better and gives the cake that perfect smooth texture.
- When I fold in the flour, ground walnuts, and milk, I make sure not to overmix. I just mix until everything is combined to keep the cake light and airy.
- Roasted walnuts make such a difference! If I’m using raw walnuts, I quickly toast them in a pan to bring out that extra nutty flavor.
- After baking, I let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack. It helps the cake set and keeps it from breaking apart when I slice it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Never baked a thing in my entire life, so wanted to surprise my wife with a home made cake for her birthday.
I baked it as per the instructions and it came out absolutely beautiful. I had to make another straight away to satisfy her (and my kids) cravings!!
thank you so much…need to move on to more complex ones now!
My tip is to not whizz up the walnuts so they are fine, i used a pestle and mortar to mash them so that they were a bit more chunky, it gives the cake a lovely nutty texture.
Hi Nicolas, sounds yummy, I am so glad you tried this walnut butter cake recipe!
Hi,
Can I use 8 inch square pan for this recipe? Do I have to take the same measurements or double them?
Yes. Same measurement.
Can i use a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan for the walnut butter cake recipe? Thanks!
Yes.
Hi Bee,
Can i use a 9 inch loaf pan to bake the walnut cake or do i have to double the ingredients for the cake to be great? The loaf pan is 25 x 13 x 2.5cm.
Thanks!
I think it should be fine.
Hi Bee
Thanks for this awesome recipe that I know I must make it as it has reminded me on the yumminess my colleague used to bake for us many many years ago.
I hv doubled the recipe for a 7-inch square tin. I found the batter of this recipe a lot thicker then your butter cake which I made last week. This is despite the fact that I hv only used 100g finely chopped walnuts n 3/4 tbsp more of yoghurt.
The cake is now baking in the oven n I hope it will turn out not dry n crumbly. I will update here aft it is done.
Wish me luck!
Grace
This is a very good recipe I am sure you will have success with this walnut butter cake.
U r so right, Bee. My hubby n son gave big thumbs up for it!!!
The texture is so soft n fluffy, something I hv not expected at all fr a butter cake!
On the crumbly part that few hv commented above, I think it is v much due to the chopped walnuts. It is less crumbly if u cut it only the next day as cakes became moistened aft 1 night. This is just my 2 cents to share.
And with this success, I m gonna retry the butter cake hopefully for a better texture as it is a v yummy cake too.
Once again, big thank you to you, Bee, u hv rekindled my lost love for butter cake!!! ?
Awesome Grace. Good tip on cutting the cake the next day but it will be very hard since we can’t wait to eat it. LOL.
Bee,
I can’t resist this recipe so baking it now, I hv doubled the recipe n cake is in the oven at this moment.
I only used about 100g of finely chopped walnut n increased the yoghurt by abt 3/4 tbsp,
However, I found the batter thicker compared to your butter cake recipe n hopefully this cake would turn out fine.
Will update here aft Cake is done, wish me luck!
Grace
Do we add baking powder if we are using self rsing flour? The cake is good but doesn’t rise more than 1-1.5″. What should be done to make it rise more
I am not sure about self rising flour. Use all-purpose flour.
Hi ,
1.can i have eggless butter walnut cake recipe. instead of EGG what i substitute with.
2 Can i have 9″ cake tray pls. TQ
Hi sorry I don’t know how to make an eggless cake.
Yes, you can use a 9″ cake tray.
Your recipes look so good but why can’t you convert into cups etc.??
Amazing recipe! Used yoghurt instead of milk and some cointreau instead of vanilla, but otherwise stuck to the weights, came out super soft and delicous :)
Yes, this walnut butter cake recipe is amazing.
Tried this recipe and it turned out very nice..and its a simple recipe to do.
Can I know how to make the cake more moist? By adding more butter or milk or adjust the baking time? TIA
Nick
You can add more butter.