I got this recipe from a pastry chef once, and he got it from his grandmother, and she got it from...who knows? When I made it first, I knew, this is going to be the best walnut cake I ever tasted. And guess what, I was. I changed a couple of things in the original recipe, so you will get my version of grandma's old walnut cake. You are very welcome to take or add things, but I suggest to make it first as it is, you might like this way. And remember whatever changes you make, baking is different from cooking, so be careful with improvisation.

Ingredients

• 100 g organic walnut
• 70 g icing sugar, local
• 7 free-range eggs
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• peel of 1 orange, organic

Walnut Cream

• 100 g organic walnut
• 80 g sugar, local or fairtrade
• 100 ml water
• 70 g biodynamic or organic butter
• 50 ml biodynamic or organic cream 
• half a handful candied orange peel, organic
• lime zest as decoration, organic

This is how you can make candied orange peel.

https://womensart.blog/2019/12/04/candied-orange-peels-with-chocolate/

I suggest to toast the walnut before grinding. It takes about 10 minutes on 160 degrees in the oven. Why? Because everything tastes better toasted. If you would like to taste the difference, make two cakes. One with toasted nuts, the other one without.

For the cake, mix the walnut with the baking powder, a pinch of salt, the orange peel. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until smooth and creamy. Whip the egg whites, adding a little bit of sugar, avoiding overwhisking. Gently fold the egg yolk mixture into the flour, finally the egg whites.

Why the gently folding? Because you don't want to end up with a dense and flat cake. When you whisk eggs, you gather air, and so they stick to the fat molecules in eggs. If you are not careful with folding, you will break the air in the cream. Baking powder will not save your cake, because it only raises the cake, if there is enough air to react with. So take care of the air in the cake, which you worked hard for. You can bake it at once, or in two parts, if you want more layers. I made it in a huge baking tray lined with baking paper (and greased) and ended up with four layers. Bake it on 180 degrees for 20 minutes(ish). Let it cool completely.

For the filling, boil the water with the walnut and the sugar at very low temperature for very long time until it thickens. Add the very soft butter to it and the whipped cream, when it has cooled down a little bit and also the finely chopped, candied orange peel. Keep it in the fridge until using. You can also cover the whole cake with the walnut cream. Decorate with candided orange peel slices, lime/orange zest, whole walnuts. If you don't use it all, it can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days.