At any proper portuguese Christmas table, there has to be egg cream. This treat, typical of our “conventual sweets” (traditional portuguese sweets made by nuns in convents), is even more popular during this special time, perhaps because nobody wants to worry about their diet during this celebration.
Here at home we never pass on this delicious cream, and the perfect cake to go with it is without a doubt walnut cake. I have made this cake many times before and it is a favorite of the family, but this year I decided to give it a few twists. I added to the egg cream filling little bits of caramelized nuts, and I made an italian meringue topping, which looks very nice after being toasted with a kitchen torch.
So that the cake would not be too sweet, I made sure to reduce the amount of sugar in the egg cream and meringue. I was quite pleased with the results! I hope you enjoy it as well, and that you try it out for your own Christmas Eve.
Walnut Meringue Cake
Ingredients
Egg Cream
- 100 ml water
- 200 g white sugar
- 10 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Walnut Cake
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 150 g brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
- 1 tsp Port wine (optional)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 150 g all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 100 g walnuts
Caramelized Walnuts (optional)
- 75 ml water
- 75 g white sugar
- 150 g walnuts
Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 100 g white sugar
- 50 ml water
Instructions
Egg Cream
- Heat up the water and sugar in a pan until the temperature gets to around 108 º C.
- In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the cornstarch.
- Bit by bit and mixing with the hand whisker, add the sugar syrup to the egg yolks.
- Return this mixture to the pan and heat it up, stirring constanylu, so it thickens into a cream.
- Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring again.
- Transfer the egg cream to a container and cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in the fridge for now.
Walnut Cake
- Pre-heat your oven to 180 º C.
- In the mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until it is fully incoporated.
- Then add the egg yolks, cinnamon, wine and honey, beating for a few more minutes.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks.
- Carefully fold the egg whites into the yolks, using a spatula and alternating with the mixture of flour and baking powder. Keep mixing until you have a smooth batter.
- Lastly, grind down the walnuts in the food processor and add them to the cake batter.
- Distribute the batter in 3 cake pans of about 18 cm in diameter, previously greased. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out dry.
- Let the cakes cool down for a minute, then remove them from the pans. Set aside.
Caramelized Walnuts (optional)
- Heat up the water and sugar in a pan. Let it boil until it reaches a light caramel color.
- Add the walnuts, mixing with a spatula so they are completely covered in caramel.
- Transfer the caramelized nuts to a tray and let them cool down. Chop them into smaller bits with a knife.
Italian Meringue
- Heat up the water and sugar in medium heat until the temperature reaches around 110 º C.
- In the meantime, beat the egg whites with a few drops of lemon juice, reaching stiff peaks.
- When the sugar syrup is ready, slowly add it to the egg whites, with the mixer always on high speed.
- Beat the egg whites for a while longer until you have a smooth and firm meringue.
Assembling
- Mix half of the chopped walnuts with the egg cream filling.
- Place the first cake layer on the serving plate. Cover it with about half of the egg cream filling, smoothening it with a spatula.
- Repeat the previous step for the next layer.
- Place the last cake layer on top. Next cover the entire cake with the meringue topping.
- For the final touch, toast the meringue with a kitchen torch and decorate the cake with the rest of the caramelized nuts.
