Red Walnut Praline Cake

Red Walnut Praline Cake

Here's a wonderful recipe for a Red Walnut Praline Cake. This one comes from "the Cake Chica" and it’s absolutely amazing! The red walnuts pair wonderfully with the praline cake. They add a nutty flavor and crunchy texture without any of the usual walnut bitterness. Yum!

For more delicious recipes made with simple and real ingredients, visit the Cake Chica's website at thecakechica.com and don’t forget to follow her on Instagram "@thecakechica1"!

What You'll Need

For the Cake

  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 1/2 chopped red walnuts or regular walnuts

For the Syrup

  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon bourbon

For the Frosting

  • 24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 8 cups powdered sugar
  • PRALINE TOPPING
  • 1 large egg white, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups red walnut or regular walnut halves

For the Praline Topping

  • 1 large egg white, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups red walnut or regular walnut halves

Putting it All Together

The Cake

  1. Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. Grease the paper and lightly coat both pans with flour. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter in a large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg 1 at a time, add vanilla. Beat in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions. Fold in the chopped walnuts. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
  2. Bake the cakes until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in their pans for 10 minutes. Insert a thin flexible spatula to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and turn cakes onto wire racks to cool completely

The Syrup

  1. Stir 3 tablespoons water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the bourbon, set aside.

The Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. Using an electric stand mixer, in the large bowl beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Beat sugar in 1 cup at a time, occasionally scrapping down the bowl.

The Praline Topping

  1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Using a fork, beat the egg white and 1 tablespoon water in a medium bowl until foamy. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the walnuts and toss to coat. Spread the walnut mixture on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, then stir and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Cool nuts completely on baking sheet.
  2. Place 1 cake layer, flat side up on a cake plate or cake round. Poke several holes on the top of the cake with a skewer or toothpick. Brush some of the simple syrup on top. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting over the top of the cake. Top with the second layer of cake flat side up. Poke several holes on top of the cake and brush the remaining simple syrup on top. Spread frosting on top of the cake and decorate.