I saw this recipe on a few blogs because it was the daring bakers challenge (on Lorraine’s blog here and Sawsan’s blog here) and I was immediately drawn to it. I love spice cakes and combined with nuts and rose petals? I just couldn’t resist. Poor Sawsan had an issue with her cake, but I loved that she posted it anyway! It’s a very tasty cake and I will more than likely make it again.
We were having friends Rae and Monica over for dinner and they like dessert (but not rich chocolate, for some reason) so I am always on the lookout for something new to try. Lorraine topped her cake with a gorgeous combo of pistachios and edible rose petals…OMG so lovely, and she also made a light syrup to drizzle over it, which I also did. Unfortunately I did not have edible rose petals nor pistachios so I used dried cherries and mixed nuts. I also added a bit of cognac to the honey drizzle for some adult effects!
Now I must digress for a moment and talk about that jar you see in the background. It is a jar or Turkish nuts (variety) in honey. My friend Barb of Profiteroles and Ponytails gave it to me last year and I have hesitated to open it because of my previously bad behaviour (I devoured the last jar in a matter of months, just standing at the pantry and spooning copious amounts into my mouth); so I stashed it at the back and immediately forgot about it. We were out for dinner with Barb and Carol, a good friend from out East when I remembered that I had the jar in my pantry. I mentioned I was going to bake this cake and we all agreed the nuts would be exceptional on the cake as décor, texture and flavour. Carol asked how I used up my first jar: I said I stood in front of the pantry and ate it by spoonfuls until it was no longer. I don’t think she believed me, but it’s true!
Armenian Nutmeg Cake
Recipe adapted from these lovely and talented ladies: Lorraine’s blog Not Quite Nigella and Sawsan, Chef in Diguise
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk
- 1 tsp baking soda (bi carb of soda)
- 2 cups all-purpose (unbleached) flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1.5 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
- 3/4 cup butter, cubed, chilled
- 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
- 1/4 cup Turkish nuts with honey (or just 1/4 cup nuts and 1/4 cup honey)
- 2 tbsp cognac (you can also use rosewater instead, however I find the flavour a little too strong, plus I prefer booze ;-))
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 340°F. Line a 10 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper on the base and sides. In a cup mix the baking soda and milk and set aside. In a large food processor add the flour, baking powder, brown sugar and butter and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Place half of the above mixture in the base of the pan patting it down with fingers to make a base and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg and nutmeg for 2 minutes until fluffy and pale. Add the vanilla and the milk and soda mixture and whisk until combined. Then add the remaining half of the flour and butter mixture and mix until smooth (you can still use the whisk for this as it is quite liquidy still). Pour on top of the base crumbs and then sprinkle the walnuts on top (my walnuts baked right into the cake, they actually fell into the centre, so I will suggest you fold the walnuts into the cake. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean – many have found that while the top looks cooked, the batter is runny underneath so try the skewer in several places.
- When cake is ready, remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan (thank you Sawsan for your experience). While doing this, heat nuts and honey mixture gently and add the cognac. Pour the nut and honey mixture over the top of the cake allowing the honey to soak into the cake. Sprinkle the chopped dried cherries over the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.
I used the loaf pan because I knew I wanted a certain sized cube as a small portion. I dressed each portion individually for my dinner party. I froze the remainder of the cake.
[…] mixed in salted nuts (I used the Turkish honey and nuts my friend Barb of Profiteroles and Ponytails gave […]
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This cake looks delicious. I love dense flavour packed cakes that don’t rely on a massive pile of frosting/icing to get people to eat them. I much prefer syrup or spice cakes and this cake looks like it certainly ticks the box. I found your blog thanks to a link from Sawsan’s blog. Looks like another blog going into my rss feed reader before I lose you in the ether 🙂
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Thank you so much for dropping by. I love warm spices in sweets as well, that way you don’t have to put as much sugar in because your taste buds are satisfied with the flavour and not sweetness.
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I like using things like dates in my cakes as a sugar sub and lowering the sugar down even more. Love this recipe and your blog 🙂
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That’s a great idea plus it would moisten the cake nicely.
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[…] Dessert: Armenian Nutmeg Cake with Hazelnut Frozen Yogurt and Caramel Drizzle (the Armenian Nutmeg Cake was reinvented from a previous post) […]
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What a gorgeous cake Eva! I can’t wait until the fall, when it cools down enough that I can start baking again!
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I know what you mean, Amber, I usually run my exhaust fan full blast when the oven is on to pull the hot air out. It works like a charm.
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What a gorgeous cake.. and I love how you made a perfect little square, what a great way to plate, it’s very artfully done. I would do the same with a jar of nuts like that. I’ve never seen edible rose petals, those must be so interesting to taste.
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I am unsure if I responded to this comment, Smidge, and I do apologize if I did or didn’t. I just purchased edible rose petals in Wisconsin in a very cute and authentic Mexican food store.
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Like John, I have staared at the jar of nuts and keep wondering how in the world was this done?????
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I suspect small Turkish children, Norma.
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Eva, I’m so glad that you made it! This is one of my favourite cakes and I love the way that you presented it. And adding cognac to the syrupy honey? Brilliant! 😀
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Thank you kindly Lorraine, that very generous of you to say! I wish I had roses petals, that was such a romantic addition!
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I do remember Lorraine and Sawsan posted it. I have never tasted before but this cake is very pretty. And the jar of beautifully layered nuts… gorgeous!
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Thanks Nami, it’s a delicately flavoured cake and not very sweet; the slightly chewy base makes a nice surprise when you eat it.
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I remember seeing the cake on both of their blogs…your adaptation sounds great.
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Thanks Karen, I really liked it and because it wasn’t too sweet the nuts with the honey finished it off well.
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It’s funny, I’ve never been a fan of Christmas fruit/nut cake but this gorgeous, moist and fresh looking cake looks nothing like the kind they try and pass off as food during the holidays ;-). I adore nuts in baking and this sounds like such a delicious combination of flavours Eva… the nutmeg sounds heavenly here…Well done!
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Thanks Kelly, that’s very kind of you to say. It was a delicately flavoured spice cake and I will make it again. The honey nuts and the cognac really added the pizazz it needed.
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Hello Eva,
I followed the link you kindly provided to my blog but when I clicked it I got an error message and that happened for a week I thought you had deleted the post for some reason
Your cake looks amazing and I love the Turkish nuts you used
That jar is so tempting, no wonder the first vanished 🙂
Thank you so much for the shout out. I deeply appreciate it
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Hi Sawsan, this post was entered to go live on the 20th but for some reason wordpress posted it live on the 15th. Without thinking (as I often do) I changed it to the 20th but not before several comments and viewings, so instead of complicating things even more, I just left it. Sorry about the mix up. I have fixed your link. The shout out is entirely my pleasure, Sawsan.
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Your cake looks and sounds delicious! I too have to be in the mood for chocolatey cakes…I don’t know why really, because I love chocolate. I guess if I only ate chocolate cakes then I wouldn’t try wonderful cakes like this one.
Nazneen
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Hi Nazneen, thanks for your comment. It was a very lovely cake and our guests loved it.
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What an unusual cake! I admit I have already heard something about Armenian cake, but do not remember the nutmeg. I often use nutmeg when I make meat pâtés/terrines, but I don’t think I’ve used it in a sweet dish. It looks really extraordinary! I will think about trying your recipe when the temperature goes down a bit.
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Hi Sissi, nutmeg is quite common in French meat dishes; I make a wonderful braised beef and onions and it is seasoned with nutmeg—I must remember to pull out that recipe once the weather cools down a bit. The weather people say it will approach 30°C here today with very high humidity but it’s already 25°C and it’s only 7am!
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Eva, it’s hot and humid here as well … well, I’m only 4 hrs away heading roughly south-west down the 401 … so I think sushi is the way to go. Served by my favourite AYCE sushi place. 🙂
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I assume you must be a passenger, hopefully you are not commenting while driving, Maria. The 401 can be a treacherous highway at the best of times! Yum, sushi.
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I’m at home commenting on the fact that OUR weather is comparable to yours in Toronto since we’re only a 4 hr drive away (I have no idea how far it is in KM). Sorry for the confusion. No … I would not text and drive. 🙂
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Oh good. I guess this time of year it is, but I doubt our winters compare! Our cottage is about a 3.5 hour drive and their temperatures in mid winter are much worse than our’s. But we did have a couple of weekend in early spring that Bancroft was warmer than Toronto.
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Eva, it’s funny because apart from me no one from my French family uses nutmeg in meat dishes (I use it only in pâtés and I know it’s used in terrines and pâtés but in very small amounts and mainly by butchers because few French people make their own terrines or pâtés). Cheese soufflés, tarts, potato dishes, yes, but meat… I still remember reactions of those who cook traditional French meat dishes when I talk about my nutmeg pâté… Is your recipe old/regional?
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That’s interesting Sissi; the recipe I found must have been Québecois; I’ll check out and let you know.
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Wow, Eva! That’s restaurant quality presentation if ever there was one. Well done! Clever of you to prepare it so that you could serve these perfect little squares and freeze the remainder. And I’ve gone back to stare at that jar a few times now. No matter how it was done, there had to be quite a bit of manual labor to get those nuts arranged so precisely. They sound like the perfect topping this cake. I bet your dinner guests loved it. I know would have!
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Not sure how this happened as this post was supposed to be for the 20th of June! Quite annoying, but thank you kindly for subscribing and commenting John. It would have been a shame to have this one end up unnoticed in June 10!
I’m always thinking about the presentation when I choose the recipe — I love the unique bake ware and serving dishes, I may have a bit of an issue collecting them. The nuts were literally just spooned over top, but I did add the dried cherries so that they caught the light and glimmered like jewels! The cake was indeed polished off in an instant on that night!
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Yes, I saw this cake and thought it was something I would love to try. And I love how you have plated and styled your slice of cake. It looks so yummy Eva. And as for those nuts! I can understand how you could stand at the pantry door and just poor them into your mouth. They look and sound fabulous – love the rainbow of colours xx
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Hi Charlie, yes they are quite tasty and contrary to what you would think, they are not sickly sweet. I shall have to keep them in mind for future desserts and savoury presentations.
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Wow, what a great jar of mixed nuts, I’m with you, a hide and seek game with this one for sure…Your cake turned out wonderfully! x
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Welcome to my blog Yvette, and than you for your comment. The cake was indeed well received.
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That jar of nuts looks beautiful and your cake looks good, too.
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Thanks Sharyn, it’s a wonderful combo of flavours. BTW that jar is calling my name…
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I remember seeing this one, it was such a delicious recipe 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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It certainly was CCU, very tasty indeed.
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What a gorgeous cake and the combination of nuts in honey plus fruit is just mouth watering. Between your cake and Charles’ early post of the Swedish ‘sticky’ cake, you’re tempting me to go on a baking binge.
Luckily I still have butter tarts in my freezer (microwaving 2 at a time takes only a few seconds … cause 1 is never enough) as a treat with coffee to hold me back. Plus the fact that I have some fudge recipes I’ve been dying to try. 🙂
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Yes, that’s true, I’ve my eye on Charles chocolate cake recipe. It’s JT bday on Monday, so I may have to surprise him with it! The butter tarts sound tempting, I would keep them in the freezer too, mind you, I have been known to sneak a frozen dessert from the freezer and eat as is, without thawing!
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This is new to me. It looks perfectly dense and moist.
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It was a very nice cake, Angie. The base was chewy, the top was cakey and the honey and nuts were a lovely contrast in textures.
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