This cake had sort of a goofy process, but I really wanted to share it with you, my faithful readers, because I feel like it’s something really different, and tasty. If you have time off between Christmas and New Years, or you want to do some “Holiday Baking” that isn’t Just Another Cookie, try this recipe! It’s an unusual one for me, because I made it once, and thought “this could be improved” and so made it again and, get this, took notes.
The original idea for this recipe came from a red bean bundt cake in The Korean Vegan, an idea which I was immediately charmed by, but didn’t actually seem quite like what I wanted, because I do not own a bundt pan. This is, forgive me, a bit of ~~fusion~~ cooking, in that it has red bean paste but is definitely a classic western style pound cake. I liked that her cake was a marble cake, but I thought it could be a bit more than just vanilla on the other side, so I decided to experiment a bit.
I think a lot about a croffle I had in LA that had red bean paste, a slab of cream cheese, and toasted walnuts. It was so good. Despite that, I didn’t make this cake with cream cheese, because, to be honest, a friend had left sour cream at my house at halloween, and cream cheese is like…. 4$ a pound these days, so I wasn’t going to buy any. I did, however, think about how good red bean and walnuts were together, and that was how I decided on the two flavors for the cake. If you want to go with another flavor profile, matcha and red bean is, obviously a classic combination, but it seemed like it might be a bit too christmas colored (that being said, you could make it a christmas cake if you want?? Just do a tablespoon of matcha in half instead of walnuts, it’s probably fine, although you might want to add more flour as well, idk, it would be super christmas).
For this recipe, I’m using Maangchi’s recipe for red bean paste. Feel free to buy red bean paste also, with the caveat that I am using a Korean style red bean paste which is much more similar to a Japanese red bean paste than Chinese style, albeit less sweet than recipes for Japanese style (about half the sugar, actually). This is also a chunkier paste, because I wound up mashing it by hand with a wooden spoon, like an idiot. This isn’t a good thing necessarily, just a statement of fact. It might have been better to just run it through a food processor, but I didn’t, for some reason. The chunks of beans are actually pretty interesting in this. It sounds a bit unappealing when I describe it this way, but the larger pieces wind up getting a bit dried out in the cooking, giving the cake a lot of textural variety, making it a bit reminiscent of almonds. It’s actually quite good! This is all to say, if all you have access to dried red beans and a pot and wooden spoon, just stick on an episode of Miss Marple or something, and you will, eventually, get a really great result.
This recipe is based on Sohla El-Waylly’s vanilla pound cake recipe, but I have made a lot of (small?) changes to it. I am not using an extra egg yolk. What am I going to do with this egg white? ugh! I just… every time I have to throw an egg white away I get annoyed. I also increased the baking powder slightly (and it could probably be increased to 1 tsp without any negative side effects, such as gross feeling teeth), as red bean paste is pretty weighty, and her cake seemed a bit shorter than I’d like it to be. Honestly her recipe is a bit weird (really low volume of flour!) so mine has a higher volume of non butter/sugar ingredients. I also lowered the sugar, because I wanted a cake that you would taste and think “hm, not too sweet.”
I couldn’t find any recipes for a walnut or almond meal marble cake, so this is a bit experimental, but follows the general concept of a marble cake. The first version wound up being a bit subtle of a flavor, both in the red bean and the walnut parts, but I was afraid that a less subtle flavor would ruin the texture. I wound up making some changes regardless, because I realized that I could decrease the flour in the batter (as well as the sugar) and because the bean paste is sweetened and also provides protein it wouldn’t damage the integrity of the cake. This recipe is my second try, which accounts more for the low volume of flour in the original recipe and includes significantly more walnut meal and red bean, as well as less sugar than the original, because I feel like especially because it’s a sort of east asian flavor profile it’s crucial that it not be incredibly sweet.
This is a recipe for the second version, which received such rave reviews as “this tastes good!” but not what I was hoping for, still, which is “wow the flavor of red bean really smacks you in the mouth.” If you aren’t a red bean fiend this is probably a great, like, starter recipe. Just to get your feet wet. I still wish it tasted more of red bean though. Whatever, it’s good! It’s a really good cake recipe that you should try. A final note that you really do want to set out the eggs, butter, and sour cream, as well as the red bean paste at least several hours before cooking. If you put them out right now (you already have red bean paste at home, right?) you can make the cake in time for whatever dinner party you’re going to tonight.
Red bean and walnut cake
14 tablespoons (196 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
1 cups (200 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120 grams) sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup (156 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (136 g) ground walnuts
Totally optional, just because we have it: 1/8 tsp black walnut bitters (1/8 tsp is code for “I didn’t measure”)
1/2 cup (122 g) red bean paste
Set a rack in the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch metal loaf pan with butter, line the bottom with parchment.
If you don’t have roast walnuts, roast some. This took me about 10 minutes in a 350 oven, but don’t rely on my timing. Grind the walnuts when done.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt on medium-high speed until pale and very fluffy, stopping once during mixing to scrape down the paddle and bowl, 6 to 8 minutes total. (You might think it’s done before that time, but keep going all the way.)
Scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl. On medium-high speed, beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the paddle and the bowl after each addition. The batter should look very fluffy, creamy, and emulsified (if not, your eggs or butter may have been not at room temperature—let the mixture come to room temperature then try mixing it again).
Scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and vanilla until lump-free and totally smooth.
Add half of the sour cream and mix on medium-low until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. Add half of the flour and mix until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. Repeat with the remaining sour cream and flour. Using a flexible rubber spatula, scrape down the paddle and the bowl and mix the batter a few times to make sure everything is evenly combined.
Measure the walnuts and red bean paste into their own medium sized bowls. Add the batter into the bowls, starting with a smaller amount that you mix in vigorously, and then the rest of the batter which you fold in.
Drop blobs of the red bean and walnut sections so that they, idk, are marbled? Whack the cake on the counter a time or two to get the bubbles out. Run a butter knife through the cake in both directions for maximum marbleing. Wet the butter knife and use it to slice down the center of the loaf cake (this ensures an even crack right down the middle of the cake).
Bake until the crust is deeply browned, the loaf rises and splits, and the cake feels firm and set when you gently press the top, 60 to 70 minutes. (This is a very moist cake and it is better to overbake rather than underbake. If the crust is looking very dark partway through, set a wire rack just above the loaf pan and place a rimmed baking sheet on it to provide a shield.)
Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula or butter knife around the sides to loosen. Tip the cake into your hand, then place on a wire rack to fully cool before slicing.