This cake actually began life as a tart I made for a dinner party a few months ago. Everyone loved it so much I made a mental note to figure out a way to enjoy it again for my birthday. And here we have it!
With the milk chocolate it’s definitely a big treat for me. But well worth the blood sugar high!
I’ve also made it with dark chocolate and while I did enjoy it, I prefer the sweet sweet caramelly goodness of this milk chocolate version.
Because of the low cocoa solids content of the milk chocolate, you’ll need to freeze this to get it to set. And it is going to take the 6-hours – sorry you’ll have to wait that long!
The good news is, it stays soft enough that it can be eaten straight from the freezer. Enjoy!
And like all the best Birthday cakes, it comes with a warning… It’s very rich so start with small slices.
Chocolate Walnut ‘Cake’
Ingredients
- 300 g walnuts
- 200 g whipping cream
- 300 g milk chocolate chopped into chunks
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Place walnuts on a baking tray and roast for 8-10 minutes or until deeply golden brown and tasting toasted.
- Line a loaf tin with baking paper so the base and sides are covered. Bring cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate chunks. Stand for about 5 minutes to allow chocolate to melt.
- Gently stir your chocolate cream mixture until smooth and glossy. If there are a few chunks of unmelted chocolate don’t stress too much.
- Pour half the chocolate mixture into your prepared tin. Top with 3/4s of the walnuts saving the last 1/4 for decorating the top. Layer over the remaining chocolate mixture. Finish with the remaining walnuts.
- Place in the freezer for 6 hours or until the ‘cake’ has set enough that you can slice it.
WINE MATCH: A nice cup of milky tea. OR a glass of Rutherglen Muscat.
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly: – cream = coconut cream or nut milk.
short on time – replace milk chocolate with dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) – will only take an hour to set in the freezer.
different nuts – I adore this with walnuts but cashews or pecans will also work – macadamias are nice too. OR use a mixture of nuts.
low carb / low-sugar – use dark chocolate.
dairy-free / paleo – use coconut cream or almond milk and use dark chocolate.
little tarts – use the chocolate walnut mixture to fill these baked tartlet shells.
more substantial – serve with double cream, whipped cream or ice cream.
nut-free – replace walnuts with chopped plain sweet biscuits such as digestives or graham crackers. And you’ll be able to change the name to what the Irish call a ‘Chocolate Biscuit Cake’.
not quite so sweet – use a mix of 50:50 milk and dark chocolate.
Problem Solving Guide
too sweet – next time use dark chocolate.
too soft / not setting – try putting it in the freezer to set. Next time use chocolate with higher cocoa solids content. Or a combo of dark and milk chocolate.
too rich! – this is an intense dessert so small slices are the go. And serve with some greek yoghurt for contrast and freshness.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
walnuts / milk chocolate – keep them in the pantry.
cream – unopened cartons will generally keep in the fridge for a few weeks. If you need to store for longer, just pop in the freezer in a sealed container. Or freeze in icecube trays so you can easily defrost just what you need.
Prepare Ahead
A must! Leftovers will keep in the freezer for months but the walnuts will get softer over time. To serve, slice straight from the freezer and allow to stand for a few minutes (if you can wait that long!).
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
This is so yummy!! I added crushed ginger biscuits to the base, which adds a nice spicy contrast. I’m so glad the meal plan for this week included this recipe. 🙂
I have been meaning to make this forever and now it’s popped up in this weeks Meal Plan (Northern) so it’s on my list for this week. I can’t wait as I have walnuts from my garden to use.
I have to be honest, while I was making this I kept thinking that it was going to be like eating a bar of nut chocolate, fairly ordinary. I didn’t imagine for one moment how good it was going to turn out – it was incredible! There is something quite special about the coldness and the creaminess. Definitely one to serve to guests & there are lots of options to switch it up with, both with ingredients and serving style.
This was really tasty, especially as I jazzed it up a bit with some Scotch Finger biscuits on the base and a few chopped dried apricots in the chocolate*, but I keep forgetting that chocolate, especially dark, contains a significant amount of caffeine, and the one piece I had kept me awake for most of the night. I shall have to investigate your chocolate-free treats.
*I’ve just had a blood test, and my fasting blood glucose remains within the normal range.
That’s great about your blood test results Mark 🙂
Bummer about the chocolate induced wakefulness though. There are definitely lots of chocolate-free treats!
Thank you for this recipe! I used just your lovely photo as an inspiration this time (sometimes the photo is all it takes for you to inspire me!). I made this with unsweetened chocolate, coconut oil and coconut cream, and some stevia and vanilla extract. I added some pecans which is what I had. Its pretty strong I admit (!) but I’ve been glad to have it around for “emergencies” as I try to off-ramp my sugar intake this week. I hope to try the recipe as-written some time in the future 🙂 Thanks again, Sarah
Nice one Sarah! Good luck with the sugar off-ramping 🙂