Now usually a medium-density sweet cake containing chopped walnuts. Often decorated with a sugar glaze and walnut halves.

Original Receipt in the 'Northampton Mercury' - Saturday 14 January 1888

Walnut Cake.-One cup of sugar, nearly one half cup of butter, one and half cups of flour, one-half cup of cold water, two eggs, one teaspoon of tartar, one-half teaspoon of soda, add one-half pound walnuts. Cut the nuts in fine pieces, frost the cake and put whole nuts on top


Original Receipt from 'Pot-luck; or, The British home cookery book' by May Byron (Byron 1914)

882. WALNUT CAKE (Hertfordshire)

Six whites, six yolks of eggs, six ounces of flour, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, half a teaspoonful of baking powder, one pound of walnuts, three drops of vanilla. Chop walnuts very finely (there should be six ounces when shelled), beat butter and sugar to a cream, add yolks one by one, whisk whites very firmly, add walnuts to the whites, add flour and whites alternately.



2013