going off script
Jam and Walnut Breakfast Cake
I’m not a food blogger, I tried that once, and honestly, I was not too good at it. Being a food blogger, or recipe writer, or any other food content creator means that you have to create novelty.
I was looking through some cookbooks recently, trying to find a cake that I could make that would be easy, because my kitchen is dirty, and I am tired of doing dishes, but also…. I desired cake. I noticed that three of the cookbooks I flipped through had recipes for marbled bundts, all with the same commentary about the “usual issues with this type of cake…. it’s dry…. the chocolate and vanilla both lack flavor…”
This, to me, seems indicative of a larger problem within the recipe creation marketplace. There is always a need to create something new, but sometimes, you don’t need to create something new. Take all of these bundt cakes, they cannot all solve the same problem in unique ways, because like, it’s a fucking bundt cake. How different can they be? Did I take the time to compare the recipes for marbled bundts? No! I will probably never in my life make a marbled bundt, because I am lazy, and also… I never really want one. (Does anyone ever really want one?) But that’s not the point.
The joy of the pointless newsletter format that I selected for myself is that I don’t have to create novelty. I can just share a recipe that I made, and that’s good enough. Most likely, you won’t make it, and that’s fine. It matters not at all to me. The newsletter exists so that I have an outlet for my thoughts that is more optional than me texting somebody “hey why are there so many goddamn recipes for marbled bundt cakes???”
The format of the newsletter (and also the fact that my job is “doing information stuff”) is why, usually, when I make recipes, I might make a few changes, altering the spices or changing some ratios or something, but I don’t usually stray too far. The recipe that I am sharing today, however, goes wildly off script.
As you might have noticed from the overarching theme of the newsletter, I hate making breakfast, but also, simultaneously, I am always thinking about what to male for breakfast. I can’t explain it, it’s a personal defect. My therapist says I am really good at living in the moment, which is her positive spin on why I’m not thinking about the coup all that much, but I am rarely living in the moment when it comes to my next meal. One of Noah’s many issues with me, beyond the bougie way I eat chicken wings, is that at 10:15 I turn to him and say “hey dude, what do you want for dinner?”
Noah has not usually eaten breakfast at 10:15, and so this always makes him a bit angry. But it’s true, the only time I am not thinking about my next meal, is when I am eating my current meal.
None of this really addresses the issue of this cake. I was looking through a cookbook, and, well, I wanted cake for breakfast, because tomorrow I have to get up at 5:30, and someone I do not know all that well is driving me and my huge dog to her spay appointment, so I thought the decent thing to do would be to make us cake. I didn’t see a cake that met my needs, so I made my own. I promise not to make a habit of it.
This cake is good! I was afraid it would suck shit, but it doesn’t! I added an extra 2 tbs of oil to the butter so that it doesn’t dry out, with all of the whole wheat. It also has yogurt and a fuckload of walnuts, so that it feels like you’re actually eating something. And jam. Jam makes it breakfast!
Big dog gets spayed in the morning!!
Jam and Walnut Breakfast Cake
1 cup (110 g) finely chopped walnuts
1/2 c (113 g) butter (or oil)
2 tbs olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1/2 c sugar (110 g)
2 large eggs
3/4 c (165 g) plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cup flour (160 g) ** I used 100 g whole wheat flour and 60 g white flour, I found this blend to be really nice
Jam (raspberry or blackberry both go well with walnuts and vanilla)
Preheat your oven to 350.
Put parchment paper in an 8x8 pan, with an overhang on the side. (Just one long strip the width of the pan). (You could grease the pan additionally if you were worried. I did not, and didn’t have an issue.)
In a smallish pan put your stick of butter (or half cup of oil) and all the chopped walnuts. Bring the butter to boil, toasting the walnuts and browning the butter. Due to the density of walnuts, you will not be able to see solids form at the bottom. I didn’t wait until the bubbling died all the way down, but the foam was golden. Remove from heat, pouring into a little bowl so the butter doesn’t burn.
Whisk sugar and eggs for about a minute, until foamy. Add yogurt, vanilla, and salt, and the extra two tablespoons of oil. Pour as much of the butter off the walnuts as you can without dumping in the walnuts, don’t worry if some stays behind.
Whisk until it’s emulsified.
Add the flours, baking powder and baking soda (I just weigh them in on top). Whisk until almost combined. Add the walnuts, fold them in.
Pour the batter into your cake pan. Put jam on top. I did four dollops of jam, and tbh, more would have been good. Swirl it in, using a chopstick or skewer.
Bake. I have no idea how long, anywhere from 25 minutes to 45 minutes. I meant to set a timer for 35 minutes, but I guess I didn’t. You will know it is ready when it is thoroughly golden brown, the edges of the cake are pulling away from the side of the pan, and it feels like the underside of your forearm (not when you’re flexing) when pressed. It should spring back, without a feeling of wetness underneath.
Because I used whole wheat flour, it was a very golden color, which I found appealing. If you want a sweeter cake, a sprinkle of turbinado could be nice, but I think it has a pretty balanced sweetness as it is.
The cake should last for about three days, covered, on your counter.
Let me know if you make the cake. I think it would vegan pretty easily, but I’m not vegan, so I didn’t try. If you make it with oil instead of butter you could toast the walnuts in the oven and skip that whole initial step, and probably leave out the extra 2 tbs of oil in the batter.
I’m also totally over trying to take pictures of whatever I’m cooking. If this is too visually boring for you to engage, lmk and I’ll try to motivate myself.