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La Belle Cuisine
Walnut-Spice Layer Cake with
Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Renaissance Restaurant, Aspen
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Caramel:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup whipping cream
Syrup:
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
Cake:
3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup walnuts
5 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Frosting:
Five 3-ounce packages cream cheese,
room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter,
room temperature
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
25 to 30 walnut halves
For
caramel: Stir sugar and water in heavy large saucepan over
medium-low heat until
sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil with-
out
stirring until deep amber
color, brushing down sides of pan with
wet
pastry brush and swirling pan
occasionally, about 9 minutes. Re-
move
from heat. Add the cream. Stir until
caramel is smooth. Return
to
medium heat. Stir until caramel returns to boil
and color deepens
slightly, about 1 minute. Pour
into small bowl.
Refrigerate until cold.
For syrup: Stir water and sugar in small saucepan over medium-low
heat
until sugar dissolves and syrup becomes to boil. Remove from
heat;
add rum.
For cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 9-inch-
diameter cake pan
with 2-inch-high sides; line bottom with parchment.
Sift flour, cornstarch
and pumpkin pie spice into bowl. Finely grind
the walnuts and 2 tablespoons dry
ingredients in processor. Combine
egg
and
sugar in large bowl. Set bowl over
saucepan of gently sim-
mering
water (do
not allow bottom of bowl to touch
water). Whisk
until mixture resembles softly whipped cream about 4 minutes.
Remove bowl
from over water. Using electric mixer, beat mixture
until cool
and heavy ribbon forms when
beaters are lifted, about 5
minutes. Sift flour
mixture
over egg mixture in
3 additions; fold in
each addition. Sprinkle
walnut mixture and melted
butter over and
fold in. (Do not overfold or
batter
will deflate.) Transfer batter to
prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted in center comes
out
clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan 5
minutes. Cut around cake.
Turn
out
onto rack;
cool completely.
For frosting:
Using electric mixer beat cream cheese and butter in
large bowl until
blended. Beat in 1 1/3 cups cold caramel sauce in
4 additions.
Assemble cake:
Cut cake in half. Place bottom half, cut side up, on
plate. Drizzle with 5
tablespoons syrup. Spread 1 1/2 cups frosting
over. Place
top half, cut side
down, on top. Drizzle with 5 table-
spoons
syrup. Spread
1 1/2 cups frosting
over top and sides of
cake. Drizzle 3
tablespoons
caramel
sauce onto top. Using tip of
knife, swirl decoratively. Press
chopped nuts
onto sides of cake.
Place nut halves around
top edge.
(Can be prepared 1
day ahead. Chill.)
Featured Archive Recipes:
Sherry Spice Cake
Spice Layer Cake with Mocha Buttercream
Spiced Pecan Cake with Pecan Frosting (Paul Prudhomme)
Spicy Layer Cake
Walnut Ginger Cake (Craig Claiborne)
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