Walnut butter cake

A butter cake with flecks of walnut running through it - a staple at traditional Singaporean bakeries

Walnut butter cake
Makes a 7-8" cake

50g walnuts, toasted and ground
180g self-raising flour, sifted
250g salted butter, room temperature
120g sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
60g milk
4 egg whites
50g sugar
10-20g walnuts, roughly chopped or whole

Grind the walnuts until fine but not powdery – you still want to see bits of walnuts. Add walnuts to flour. Beat together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks gradually, then add vanilla. Add half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Stir until no trace of flour remains. Add the milk and stir well, then incorporate the remaining flour mixture into the mixture. Whisk egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 50g sugar, and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Beat a third of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining egg whites in 2 batches until combined. Pour the batter into a lined and lightly greased 7-8” pan. Smooth the surface of the cake with a spoon and sprinkle walnuts on top. Bake for 45 minutes at 170C, until a skewer that is inserted into the centre of the cake emerges clean. Rest 5 min in pan, then flip onto wire rack to cool completely.