Flourless Walnut Cake with Mocha Buttercream made from ground walnuts, sweetened with coconut sugar, and topped with a dairy-free rich chocolate buttercream with a hint of coffee. Gluten-free, dairy-free.
This post has been sponsored by Nuts.com. As always, all opinions expressed are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Salted Plains!
I am a fan of making cakes if they are easy. So often, we make cakes in connection with a celebration, holiday, or other event where there are most likely other things swirling around from our to-do lists. That's when I find baking a task. And when you're celebrating something, someone, or you just really want some cake, the last thing you want is another "to-do."
That's where this deliciously simple walnut cake comes in. Using Nuts.com's raw walnut pieces, they are thrown into a food processor and pulsed into a coarse walnut meal. Combined with eggs, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract, you've got a cake batter that's destined for the oven.
What's more is that you have a nutrient-dense cake with antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Walnuts are a powerhouse.
See also: how to toast walnuts!
Now, what makes this cake truly special is that nutty walnut flavor combined with a rich mocha buttercream. Vegan butter, organic powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and a touch of coffee make for a dreamy topping fit for breakfast or dessert.
So, celebration or not, you'll be reaching for a second piece. And I promise, that will be really easy.
📖 Recipe
Flourless Walnut Cake with Mocha Buttercream
Ingredients
Walnut Cake
- 2 ¾ cups (about 340g) raw walnut pieces*
- 4 large eggs, separated
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mocha Buttercream
- ¼ cup vegan butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups organic powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
- ¼ cup brewed coffee, cooled**
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Walnut Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9x9 square baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper so that there are parchment flaps or "handles" on each end.
- Place walnuts in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse, scraping down sides as needed, until a coarse meal forms. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and coconut sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy. Add vanilla extract and walnut meal, stir well to combine.
- Rinse and dry your beaters. In another medium bowl, with electric mixer beat your egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold in a ⅓ of the egg whites at a time into the walnut mixture.
- As you continue to fold and thoroughly combine egg whites into the batter it will start to liquify slightly. Make sure your egg white are completely integrated before transferring mixture to prepared pan. At this point the walnut mixture should resemble a more batter-like consistency.
- Shake your pan slightly side to side to make sure it is even in pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, checking at the 40 minute mark. The top should have browned and a toothpick should come out mostly clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
For the Mocha Buttercream
- When the cake has cooled, combine buttercream ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium until smooth.
- Remove cake from pan. Spread mocha buttercream in an even layer. Sprinkle with extra walnut pieces if desired. Slice and serve.
- Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Adelina
WOW! I am so blown away by this and I’ve impressed my no-dietary-restrictions-friends completely. I used about half the sugar in the cake and the buttercream, and i only had coconut sugar for the buttercream (no powder) still turned out fantastic. This is honestly one of my favs now. I did everything as instructed. Beating the egg whites separately into a stiff foam was such a money move! Kept the cake so moist. Cannot believe how great this recipe was!
Tessa
Thank you, Adelina! I'm so glad!!
Deb
I decided to make this cake today as I was outside in my backyard collecting walnuts from our tree. Unfortunately my cake turned out a bit dry. I feel like maybe it needed some oil. The taste was delicious, I only added a half cup of sugar and some cinnamon. I wish I knew what went wrong. I did toast the walnuts in a 150 C oven for 10 minutes.
Adelina
I used an 8x8 baking dish.. maybe that kept some moisture in? I made this and it was far from dry.
Sarah @ Snixy Kitchen
Love love love easy cakes! Especially when they look this decadent!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
How delicious does this look Tessa?! And that mocha buttercream sounds amazing!
Christiann Koepke
Yes to this!!! Wow, yum
CK
Todd W.
Love all the different textures in this cake..walnuts are the best!!
Sherrie
Walnut flour/meal! So smart, Tessa! xo
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
OMGeee easy peasy and those walnuts! YAS please! That mocha butter cream is over the top! Fabulous work, Tessa!