Cinnamon Walnut Struesel Cake
Perfect for afternoon tea
If you didn’t know already, I cannot get enough of cinnamon. I like it in my tea, in my cake, in my meat dishes, in my perfume – in everything! I love love love it and talk about its fantastic health benefits here.
This cake is a variation of a previous posts recipe which is very versatile. Totally gluten-free, this low carb butter cake ticks all the boxes: moist and flavoursome, it keeps well and freezes well. You can make it dairy free by substituting the butter for macadamia oil. I love the swirl of sweet walnut & cinnamon “struesel”. In baking and pastry making, a streusel is a crumb topping of butter, breadcrumbs and sugar. In this recipe I make it with walnuts, cinnamon & rapadura sugar which give it a caramel-y flavour. There is enough fat in the cake batter to carry the crumb mix so you don’t need to add anymore.
Freshly ground cinnamon is far superior than pre milled packaged cinnamon. I also add some cinnamon oil for added depth, but I have already told you I am a cinnamon nut!
5 cinnamon quills or 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon 30g walnuts 20g rapadura sugar or coconut sugar 250g ground almonds 10g tapioca flour 140g butter or 120g macadamia oil 120g sugar (I use Natvia) 2 teas baking powder 1/2 teas bicarb soda vanilla to taste 4 eggs 30g water 1 teas apple cider vinegar
Ready for the oven
If you are using cinnamon quills, break them in half and mill them on SP 10 for 2 minutes or until fine. Transfer to a bowl and return 2 teaspoons back into the TM bowl.
Add the walnuts and rapadura and pulse a couple of times until you get a medium (but not too fine) crumb. Set aside. In the TM bowl add the rest of the ingredients and mix on SP 6 for 20 seconds until well combined and creamy. In a lined cake tin, spread out half of the batter and sprinkle over 2/3 of the crumb mix. Top with the remaining batter and then sprinkle the remaining crumb mix on top. With a knife, give the batter a swirl. Don’t worry if it looks messy or uneven. Bake for 30 – 35 mins at 170ºC. It will brown very easily and is better slightly undercooked! A variation: Substitute the cinnamon for finely ground coffee for a different twist.
I made cake twice now – everybody loves it! Thanks for recipe!
Thank you, glad you like it!
Saw this recipe and decided to make it straight away. I used pecans instead of walnuts as I had no walnuts in my pantry. I also added some sliced apple on top before adding the second half of the crumb mix. Very popular here and I am bookmarking the recipe so I can find it again.
That sounds great Jillian. Glad you like it!
Yum!! Sound fantastic Jillian – can I come to your house?!
This looks divine! Would there be any substitute for the Tapioca flour? Or is there a health reason I should have it in my pantry?
Thankyou
Cathy
The tapioca just extends and softens the batter. It is 100% starch and is not really very good for you!
The tapioca works as a softener to give a better texture. Tapioca really doesn’t have any nutritional value except that it is a starch and will convert to sugar in your body, sometimes a good thing, more often not!
Thanks Sarah.