Chocolate Walnut ‘Cake’

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.

Course Dessert

Cuisine modern

Keyword chocolate, walnut, cake, no bake, birthday cake

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

300 g (10oz) walnuts
200 g (7oz) whipping cream
300 g (10oz) 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.

Recipe Notes

WINE MATCH: A nice cup of milky tea. OR a glass of Rutherglen Muscat.

Variations & Substitutions

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.

Prepare Ahead

A must! Best within the first 1-2 days when the walnuts are still crunchy. 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!).