Mom's Tennessee Black Walnut Cake

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook Time: 45 mins

Servings: 12

Equipment: 8-inch cake pans

Ingredients

Cake Layers

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs well beaten
• 4 whole bananas overripe
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup black walnuts chopped

Caramel Frosting

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream plus more if needed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups black walnuts finely chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 oz. cream cheese softened
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons milk or cream to thin
• 1 tablespoon black walnuts finely chopped

Instructions

For the cake layers

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 8- or 9-inch cake pans with flour-based cooking spray (or grease and flour) and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a separate bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar thoroughly. Blend in bananas, eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with buttermilk until well incorporated, then fold in walnuts. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 35 minutes for 8-inch pans, or 30 minutes for 9-inch pans, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then turn out of pans to cool completely.

For the caramel frosting

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove top. Add brown sugar and heavy cream, stirring until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer while still warm and melted. Beat on medium-low speed while adding powdered sugar a little at a time; mix until smooth and thick. Add additional heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until the frosting is of easy spreading consistency. This frosting firms quickly, almost to a fudge-like state, so work quickly to frost the cake.
2. Place a small amount of frosting on the center of a cake plate to keep the cake from shifting. Place one layer on the cake plate, and apply a layer of frosting. Top with the other cake layer, and frost the outside and top of the stacked layers. If the frosting begins to set up, add more heavy cream and re-whip to soften. Immediately press chopped black walnuts onto the top and sides of the cake, before frosting sets up.

For the cream cheese frosting

1. Combine the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and whip until fluffy with an electric hand mixer. Add confectioners’ sugar a little at a time until a thick, fluffy frosting forms; add milk or cream to thin as needed. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a large closed star piping tip. Pipe swirls of cream cheese frosting on the top edge of the cake. Garnish with black walnuts.

Recipe courtesy of sprinklebakes.com