Walnut Cake Recipe (Karidopita)

Try this Walnut cake recipe (Karidopita) or Karithopita and bake a fluffy yet crunchy syrupy cake perfect for family and guests.

What are the ingredients for this Walnut Cake Recipe?

Start this walnut cake by gathering all your ingredients. Now you may ask what are the ingredients for a walnut cake?

Karidopita ingredients

The ingredients are few and very easy to remember : 4 cups of flour, 3 cups of sugar, 2 cups of chopped walnuts, 1 cup of milk, 8 eggs, vanilla and  ammonia carbonate or baking powder. This walnut cake is infused with syrup giving it an extra sweet taste.

Syrup ingredients

The ingredients for the syrup are equally easy to remember: 5 cups of water, 4 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and lemon zest.

What is the secret of this fluffy Walnut cake?

The secret to this fluffy walnut cake is to pour cold syrup onto a hot walnut cake. So make a start on the syrup first and let it cool down. In a sauce pan pour water and add sugar with lemon juice and lemon zest. Bring the boil for 4-5 minutes. Let it rest and start preparing the walnut cake.

How can I make this Walnut cake?

First and foremost make the syrup as it needs to be cold when added to the Walnut cake. In a sauce pan pour water and add sugar with lemon juice and lemon zest. Bring the boil for 4-5 minutes. Let it rest and start preparing the walnut cake.

To prepare the walnut cake start by whisking the egg whites with half of the sugar until stiff peaks (meringue). In a stand mixer bowl  cream the butter with rest of the sugar. Once you have done this add slowly each egg yolk at a time and whisk. Add also a few drops of vanilla. Replace the Balloon whisk for the Flat beater and carry on with adding half of the flour. Dissolve ammonia in milk and add them in the cake mix. Continue by adding the rest of the flour. Beat until all the flour is nicely incorporated into the mix.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and start folding the meringue into the cake mixture. The meringue will add air and thus the desired volume in this delicious walnut cake. The correct equipment to fold meringue with is the spatula. The correct way to do this is way. Simply place the spatula in the centre of the bowl, run it to the side and fold the mixture from the bottom up. Repeat a few times.

When you have finished folding in the meringue, add half of the chopped walnuts. Bake into a buttered and floured tin for 60 minutes/ 1 hour at 180C or 356F.

Finally sprinkle the rest of the chopped walnuts on the top of the walnut cake.

What can I serve walnut cake with ?

You can serve this Walnut cake with whipped cream or a scoop or two of ice cream.

Other walnut based recipes

If you like walnuts in cake then why not try this traditional Fanouropita (Phanouropita) cake recipe. This delicious Lenten cake is made in the honour of St Fanourios or St Phanourios who is celebrated every 27th of August.

If you like the combination of walnuts wrapped in phyllo pastry soaked in syrup, then try this traditional and authentic Gianniotiko / Giannotiko (Syrupy  Phyllo and Kataifi pastry with walnuts). This delicious syrupy dessert originates from Ioannina or Giannena and hence its name. It combines two traditional syrup desserts, baclava (Baklava) and kataifi.

Walnut Cake Recipe

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Rating: 4.8/5

( 77 voted )

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour 1 hour

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 4 cups of self raising flour
• 3 cups of sugar
• 2 cups of chopped walnuts
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup milk
• 8 eggs
• vanilla stick or 4-5 vanilla drops
• 1 sachet of ammonia carbonate or 20gr baking powder

For the syrup:

• 5 cups of water
• 4 cup o f sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• lemon zest

This walnut cake calls for a 27cm or 10 inches round cake tin.

Instructions

For syrup:

• In a saucepan add water, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir and let the syrup boil for 4-5 minutes.
• Set is aside to cool.

For the cake:

• Start the walnut cake by separating the egg yolks from the egg whites and place them in separate bowls.
• In a bowl with the egg whites add half of the sugar (ie 1.5 cups) and beat them until stiff peaks.
• In the stand mixer bowl add softened butter and the rest of the sugar (ie 1.5 cups ) and whisk.  Start with low speed and increase until a fluffy consistency is reached (meringue).
• Continue by adding the egg yolks one by one whilst whisking. Add a few drops of vanilla.
• Once the egg yolks have been incorporated to the mix carry replace the Balloon whisk with a Flat beater.  Continue by adding half of the flour (ie 2 cups) to the mixture. Do this over low speed.
• Meanwhile, dissolve ammonia in milk and add them to the above cake mix.
• Once milk is added, carry on with the rest of the flour ( ie 2 cups).
• Preheat the oven to 180C or 356F.
• It is now time to add volume to the cake by fold the meringue into the walnut cake mix slowly.
• Lastly add 1.5 cups of chopped walnuts to the above cake mix.
• Butter and flour a cake tin and pour the cake mix into the tin.
• Bake the walnut cake at 180C or 356F for 60 minutes/1 Hour.
• Lastly, pour the already prepared cold cold syrup onto the hot walnut cake.
• Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
• Enjoy!