We are so lucky here to have so many walnut trees that, in a good year, they produce more nuts than we can eat. That said, last year we got none. I get a kick each time I make a dish using our own walnuts, knowing they went from tree… … to baby walnut… … to nuts… … to kernels which I can cook with. This walnut teabread is another reliable cake recipe from Mary Berry. It keeps well, it freezes well, and it eats well! 100g granulated sugar
175g golden syrup [I accidently used a maple-flavoured version, which I didn’t realise I’d bought, but it tasted just as good]
200ml milk
50g sultanas
225g self-raising flour [in our case, a valuable drum of Homepride bought from Iceland on the coast, what a treat!]
1 tsp baking powder
50 walnuts, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten [I used two of Pablo’s small eggs]

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas4. Lightly grease, then base line a 2lb [900g] loaf tin with greased greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Measure the sugar, syrup, milk and sultanas into a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool. Measure the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Roughly chop the walnuts, I used a mezaluna which I find very easy to use. Add the nuts to the flour. Add the cooled syrup mixture to the dry ingredients with the beaten egg, and stir well until the mixture is smooth. Pour into the prepared loaf tin. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 50-60 minutes or until firm to the touch. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. After 30 minutes, cover the top loosely with foil if the cake is becoming too brown.

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Serve buttered. This is a dense, sticky cake, best with rich unsalted butter. 5 to remember
confiable – reliable
el jarabe – the syrup
de arce – of maple
un pincho – a skewer
el papel de aluminio – the baking foil

If you like this, try:-
Fragrant Pineapple Cake
Perfect Pear Cake
Cupboard Cake

This recipe is from ‘Mary Berry’s Ultimate Cake Book’ by Mary Berry [UK: BBC Books]

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
Walnut teabread: from tree to cake #Recipe by #MaryBerry #Spain http://wp.me/p3dYp6-10V