Sugared Walnut Pound Cake

Sinkology is proud to present Emily Schuermann, our food-loving guest blogger who runs Food for a Year. Emily is here to share some recipes she has created exclusively for the Sinkology blog that reflect her view of a copper sink: simple, timeless, affordable, and beautifully rustic.

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If you are looking for something new for your Thanksgiving dessert table – I have just the thing! This simple pound cake recipe is so moist and flavorful, lending itself to multiple variations depending on the season. For this particular recipe, I decided to add a layer of brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts to the bottom of 2 loaf pans and top with a warm buttery glaze – because walnuts and Thanksgiving seem to naturally go together!

The key to a light and airy, moist pound cake is to whip the eggs and sugar (using a mixer) until the mixture is thickened – similar to the consistency of Greek yogurt.

Once the sugar and eggs are thickened, add the sticks of room temperature butter and whip until incorporated. Next add sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla and mix.

Many flavors can be substituted rather than adding vanilla and lemon zest, including almond extract, orange zest, chopped maraschino cherries, coffee liqueur, chocolate chips. However, for fall I can’t help but think of walnuts and cinnamon, so I stuck with a traditional pound cake and topped it with sugary spiced walnut topping.

While the oven is preheating, I lined the bottoms of my prepared loaf pans with a single layer of walnuts and toasted them in the oven for 5 minutes.

Combine dry ingredients and lightly whisk to allow everything to evenly incorporate. Then add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, mixing on medium speed to incorporate. Make sure to scrap the sides and bottom to ensure even mixing.

After the walnuts have toasted and the batter is combined, evenly sprinkle ½ c brown sugar and ½ t cinnamon atop the walnuts in each loaf pan.

Pour batter evenly between the two loaf pans and bake in the preheated oven. If using a light-colored aluminum loaf pan, baking time is about 1½ hours. If using a dark-colored metal pan or a glass pan, cooking time may need to be adjusted.

After the pound cake loaves are set in the center and a medium golden color, remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges. Then invert onto a cooling rack.

While the loaves are cooling, prepare the butter glaze by combing the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan over medium flame. Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Be sure not to bring the glaze to a boil.

Remove the loaves from the pans and return to the rack, walnut side up. Pour half of the glaze over each warm loaf. Allow the glaze to soak in before serving.

The sugary butter glaze has bits of crystalized sugar throughout and adds a wonderful crunch to the cake. 

Here’s how I plan on enjoying this pound cake :: one cake will go on the dessert table and the other will be enjoyed throughout Thanksgiving morning as I’m working in the kitchen. Whoever wants to help chop and peel will get paid in slices of pound cake! But this warm, moist, nutty pound cake with just a hint of lemon is the perfect sweet treat on any crisp fall day – and comes with the added bonus of making your house smell so good!