Layered Walnut Cake with Cinnamon Mascarpone

This layered walnut cake stacks thin walnut sponge with cinnamon mascarpone and a dusting of cocoa. Made for the winter holidays.

This layered walnut cake is my not-tiramisu. Thin walnut sponge gets cut into squares and stacked with cinnamon mascarpone, with a dusting of cocoa between each layer. You get the soft, creamy texture of tiramisu, but the flavor leans into walnut and cinnamon instead of coffee.

Tiramisu is by far my favorite dessert. Not everyone loves coffee though, so I make coffee-free versions like this too. My strawberry tiramisu is the one I bring to summer potlucks. This one is built for winter.

It's also a make-ahead. Chilling it firms up the layers so they slice clean, which helps when you're baking for a holiday.

Ingredient Notes:

• Walnut flour. This is finely ground walnuts. It has a stronger taste than almond flour, and it carries the walnut flavor in the sponge. This is not a flourless cake.
• Cake flour. A small amount goes in alongside the walnut flour to add structure to the cake.
• Eggs. The whole eggs go into the base batter. The whites get whipped separately into a meringue, and that meringue is what gives the thin sponge its rise.
• Melted butter. Folded in at the end to keep the layers soft.
• Mascarpone. The base of the filling.
• Heavy cream. Keep it chilled. It whips together with the mascarpone.
• Confectioners' sugar. Sweetens the filling, and dusts the top of the cake at the end.
• Cinnamon. This is where the warm flavor in the mascarpone comes from.
• Cocoa powder. Dusted between the layers. You can use sweetened or unsweetened. Unsweetened is more bitter, so go light with it.

How to Make the Walnut Sponge

The cake is made in a large sheet pan so that it can be baked as a thin layer that can then be stacked with the filling layer. The cake batter gets its rise from making an airy meringue mixture.

Prepare a 16x12 inch sheet pan by buttering it and lining with parchment.

First, make an egg batter with the flours and sugar. Mix the cake flour, walnut flour and sugar and add two whole eggs until light and fluffy. Separately create a meringue with egg whites and sugar by whipping it to stiff peaks in a separate bowl.

Next, gently fold the meringue into the first batter being careful not to deflate it. Finally, stir in the melted butter which will help keep the cake layer soft.

Again, gently spread the batter into the sheet pan and bake it for 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on it. It will bake quickly because it is so thin.

Lift it out of the pan by the parchment. It's a thin cake, so let it cool before you peel the parchment off.

How to Make the Cinnamon Mascarpone Filling

Beat all the filling ingredients together in an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Be careful not to over whip it.

How to Assemble the Layers 

1. Cut the cake into six pieces (about 5x6 inches each.)
2. Spread ⅙ of the mascarpone filling over the first layer and then dust with cocoa through the strainer. As an option, you can brush the cake layer with rum before spreading the filling.
3. Cover it with the next layer of cake and repeat. Place the entire cake in the freezer for at least an hour or overnight. This will let the cake firm up enough to cut nice even pieces without ruining the layers. I trim off the sides first to eliminate the uneven parts and then cut even pieces to serve.
4. Decorate as you like. I used a snowflake stencil and dusted over it with powdered sugar. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving.

SaveSave