Chocolate Swirl Walnut Pound Cake

A few years ago I ventured into the gastronomic business with a small café, something you probably know if you come here often. I closed it (sold it) a few months ago, have absolutely no regrets whatsoever of any shape, size or form, just in case you´re thinking how sad, and got my life back.

Gastronomy. It´s a hard life, which you hear about endlessly, and yet nothing compares to reality. Especially when you dive into it with another job going on and not a drop of experience. 

Molly of Orangette, brilliantly explains the feeling `A couple of years ago, not long after we opened Delancey, back in the days when I was still cooking there every night and trying to write on the side and living on pizza and cookie dough and adrenaline and contemplating a third career as a mass murderer, ..´

Now that I have more time, and before it magically dissapears again, for whatever reason, I decided to start investigating certain things I had on my mind for the longest time, like nut pastes and creams. I am very familiar with the well known frangipane (almond cream), a mixture of almonds, sugar and eggs mainly, and an extraordinary base for fruit tarts, like pears, peaches, plums, figs, or apples as in this crackly apple almond tart.

The almond paste is the first step when making almond cream, where the nuts are ground with powdered sugar and a binding ingredient is added, in my case egg whites, though I´ve made it with honey and corn syrup too. 

I often wondered why other nuts where not used as often as almonds. I mean, pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts, all marvelous flavors to use in fruit tarts. Or as is the case here, in a gooey, tender walnut chocolate pound cake.

So, taking matters into my own hands, I made a walnut cream and used it in this cake, where it is treated almost as a butter and then swirled with chocolate, before a crumble is added on top. Simply wonderful.

This is a pound cake with a texture unlike a regular pound cake. It is more buttery, not so doughy. Any nut goes well with chocolate, so feel free to change the flavor. The crumble is a nice and crunchy surprise, which might seem too much, but it works.

Being this a very rich cake, if you have to feed many people, it´s a good idea to bake it in square form, and cut it in smaller pieces. Or serve it with coffee after a meal for a perfect sweet bite to end the night.

CHOCOLATE WALNUT POUND CAKE

adapted from Pastries from the La Brea Bakery, by Nancy Silverton

Ingredients

For the cake:

8oz (225g) unsalted butter, at room tº but not greasy

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup sugar

1 cup walnut paste **

5 large eggs

2 cups cake flour or all purpose flour

4 oz (115g) semi sweet chocolate, melted

For the streusel:

½ cup flour

½ cup sugar

4oz. (115g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

Directions

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350º. Butter or spray a non-stick 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter with baking powder. Add sugar gradually and then walnut paste and beat for 2 or 3 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Remove from the mixer and add flour in three additions, mixing well with a spatula.

Pour into prepared pan, level batter and add chocolate on top. Swirl with a knife, bringing some white batter to the top. Add crumble over batter and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack and unmold. It keeps, well wrapped in plastic, for a few days.

** Walnut paste: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, put 1 cup walnuts and 1 cup powdered sugar. Process until well ground and mixed. Add 1 egg white and continue processing until a crumbly paste forms. Keeps well covered and refrigerated for a few weeks.

For the streusel: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, mix flour and sugar. Add butter and process until crumbly. Do not let it form a ball.