Polish Chocolate and Walnut Cake

⏱ 145 mins 🍽 Serves 10 🌶 eastern european ✅ Easy 🏷 Dessert

This impressive layer cake is a classic Polish dessert. It combines a light chocolate sponge with a crunchy walnut meringue, all finished with a rich chocolate glaze. The assembly creates beautiful layers of texture and flavour, making it a perfect centrepiece for a special occasion. The cake requires chilling before serving to set the glaze and allow the flavours to meld beautifully. It serves 10 people and takes about 145 minutes to prepare and bake.

Polish Chocolate and Walnut Cake

Ingredients

  • 150g plain flour plus 1 tbsp
  • 50g cocoa
  • 8 eggs separated, at room temperature
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 5 eggs whites
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 250g walnuts chopped, plus a handful to decorate
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp potato starch
  • 100g double cream
  • 100g chocolate chopped

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3½. Prepare a 30 x 22cm shallow baking tin by lining it with baking parchment. Sift the plain flour and combine it with the cocoa, then set this mixture aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then incorporate the caster sugar in small additions. Whisk in the egg yolks individually, ensuring you keep whisking. Gently fold the flour and cocoa mixture into the egg base using a spatula. Transfer this batter to your prepared tin and bake for 35 mins. After a 5 min cooling period, take the cake from the tin and line the tin again with fresh parchment.
  2. Prepare the meringue by whisking the egg whites until stiff. Gradually add the caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time, while continuing to whisk. Once the meringue is stiff and glossy, carefully fold in the chopped walnuts, plain flour, and potato starch. Spread this mixture evenly into the re-lined baking tin and bake for 40 mins at the same temperature. Take it out of the oven and allow it to cool completely.
  3. To make the chocolate glaze, gently warm the double cream. Take it off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until the chocolate has fully melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy.
  4. Slice both the cooled chocolate sponge and the meringue into two layers each. Place one nut meringue layer on top of the bottom sponge layer and scatter over some of the reserved walnuts. Add the second meringue layer, followed by the top layer of chocolate sponge. Cover the entire top of the cake with the prepared chocolate glaze. Finish by decorating with the remaining walnuts. Refrigerate the assembled cake for 1-2 hrs before you serve it.

Nutrition (per serving)

Nutrition data not available.

Recipe details

Skill levelEasy
CategoryDessert
Cuisineeastern european