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My triple-tiered walnut cake recipe features a fluffy, moist spice cake laced with crunchy walnuts and covered in a thick cream cheese frosting. It’s egg-free and made in one bowl!
Want more desserts with walnuts? Try my walnut brownies, baklava cheesecake, or oat flour banana bread next.
My family likes to push me to the limits of my creativity–and I accept said challenge.
Inspired by my spice cake, I wanted a cake that’s creative yet filled with familiar flavors we can all agree on. With crisp walnuts and a tangy cream cheese frosting, the results are a richly flavored cake with an irresistibly moist texture…and did I mention it has three tiers?!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- A deceptively easy cake recipe. Don’t let the size fool you. This entire cake is made in one mixing bowl, and the steps are just as easy as any other cake recipe.
- Egg-free. And if you use vegan cream cheese, it’s dairy-free too!
- Warm, spiced flavor. The cinnamon, brown sugar, and walnuts mesh perfectly together, infusing every bite with warming flavors.
Ingredients needed
- Flour. You can use cake flour if you want, but I think all-purpose flour is just fine. Use gluten-free flour if needed, but make sure it has xanthan gum added.
- White sugar AND brown sugar. I used a mix of both sugars, but if you want a more caramelized flavor and a darker sponge, use only brown sugar.
- Baking soda. To create bubbles and help the cake rise. Don’t use baking powder, as it won’t have the same effect.
- Cream of tartar. When combined with baking soda, cream of tartar helps produce more bubbles and results in a lighter cake.
- Vinegar. This also reacts with baking soda to mimic what eggs would do. Use white or apple cider vinegar.
- Oil. Any neutral-flavored oil will work. If not dairy-free, use unsalted butter.
- Milk or water. I used unsweetened almond milk, but water yielded similar results.
- Walnut halves. Finely chopped. Avoid toasted or salted walnuts as they could overpower the cake.
- Cinnamon. To complement the walnut flavor.
- Vanilla extract. A must for any cake.
- Salt. To balance the flavors.
- Cream cheese frosting. I find the subtle tartness pairs SO well with the sweet and moist cake. Of course, vanilla frosting is also fine.
How to make a walnut cake
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Mix the batter. Combine the dry ingredients (minus the walnuts) in a large bowl, then whisk in the wet ingredients until smooth. Stir in the walnuts, just enough to get them mixed in.
Step 2- Bake. Pour the batter mixture into three pans and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Step 3- Cool and frost. Let the cake layers cool on a cooling rack. Once cool, stack them with sheets of frosting between each cake layer and on top. Chill until set.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Bake a single-layer cake. Cut the ingredients into thirds.
- Don’t overmix the cake batter. The more mixing, the more air gets lost, making for a dense and chewy cake. This is especially key when you add the walnuts, as too much mixing will make them sink to the bottom.
- Toss the walnuts in flour. I tested several methods to see which yielded an even distribution of walnuts in the cake. Adding them straight in worked fine for me, but if you want, you could lightly warm them in the oven at 350F, then toss them in flour before folding them into the cake.
- Let the cakes completely cool before frosting them. Otherwise, the frosting will melt and slide off.
- Make a vanilla buttercream frosting. Use an electric mixer to cream butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a splash of milk until smooth.
Storage instructions
To store: Store any remaining cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze: Place the cake in a freezer-safe container and freeze for 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
The best way to prevent walnuts from sinking is to roughly chop them and also use the most fresh walnuts possible.
More impressive tiered cakes
Walnut Cake
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped
- 2 cups cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Lightly grease three 8-inch cake pans and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt and mix well. Next, add the oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water and mix until combined and smooth. Fold through the walnuts at the end.
- Distribute the batter evenly amongst the three pans. Bake the cakes for 25-27 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool completely, before spreading frosting on them and layering them up. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published December 2022, updated and republished October 2024
I made this cake in a bundt pan, had to bake it a bit longer almost 20 minutes more. Although it turned out great, the cake wasn’t very sweet which was surprising but very welcome. Moist and good flavor. I made a walnut butter cream frosting and didn’t add as much of the powdered sugar that the recipe called for and that was great too. Made this cake really nice.
AMAZING! Made this for my nanna and she loved it.
Absolutely love this and so does my husband!!
This cake does not disappoint! I have to say, I’m very impressed, I’ve tried other no flour/no refined sugar recipes but none have been this good. The cake is delicious, moist and fluffy, which is good with or without frosting. Seriously, five stars! 😊
This looks so good, it sounds right up my street. You are slowly but surely filling my summer off university with recipes to make. I absolutely love dates but I think classic banana pecan is my fave fruit and but pairing. I never even thought to try the dates and tea combo!
Hahahaha YES!!!! 😀 My mission is going to plan! 🙂
Dates are my jam, not a day goes by that I don’t eat them… In fact I think if I had to pick one food it would be dates!
However, I have never ever found dates that were as nice as the ones I had in Oman… They were just in a league of their own! I remember going to the date market and being surrounded by massive jute bags full of them… And the sweet smell in the air… Heaven!
I think any brand from the middle East is amazing 🙂
This looks amazing– and love your mom conversation commentary. It’s great to be proud of where you come from. Honestly, living in Malaysia, suddenly I think everything from America is better than what I find here..!
I always buy dates in Australia and bring them back to Malaysia- not because they are better, but because they are so much cheaper there. I love to use them as a sweetener and in baked goods– I got my husband’s mom’s date loaf recipe when we were there at Christmas, but it’s so unhealthy! I am going to see how he likes this 🙂
Oh wow- That still baffles me- Since coming back to Australia, everything is so expensive!!!!
This looks magical. I don’t like regular dates, but dried out Medjool dates are HEAVEN. I eat WAY too many of them.
Haha, that dehydrator and Costco combined 😮