Cinnamon Walnut Loaf

4.67 from 12 votes

Use a 9 x 5" loaf pan for this cake. If you only have the 8 x 4 inch pan, hold back about 3/4 cup of the batter and use it to make a few muffins. Ground walnuts and cinnamon make this heavenly loaf unlike any other!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, cinnamon, walnuts

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 321kcal

Author Lisa Lotts

Ingredients

¾ cup walnuts divided
1 cup sugar divided
1⅔ cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup milk
½ cup sour cream
¾ teaspoon vanilla
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature

FOR GLAZE:

1 cup powdered sugar
4-5 teaspoons milk

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Spray a loaf pan (9" x 5" x 3") liberally with non-stick vegetable spray. Lay the parchment paper in the bottom of the pan and spray again. Set aside.
Place ¾ cup walnuts on a baking pan and toast for 10-15 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned.
In a food processor add ½ cup of the toasted walnuts and ½ cup sugar. Pulse until the walnuts are finely ground, and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine 1⅔ cup flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Combine ½ cup milk, ½ cup sour cream and ¾ teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
In a large bowl, add 1 stick unsalted butter and the remaining half cup of sugar. Beat the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer on high speed until very light and fluffy, about 4-6 minutes, scraping the sides of a bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally.
Add 2 large eggs one at a time and beat into the butter mixture until fully incorporated before adding the second egg. Beat until blended and the mixture is light and fluffy.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and sour cream mixture, beating into the butter mixture until just combined. After the dry and wet ingredients have been blended, stir in the ground walnuts to combine evenly. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let the loaf rest in the pan for about 20-30 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

FOR THE GLAZE AND DECORATION:

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar and 4-5 teaspoons milkone teaspoon at a time, until a thick, pourable glaze forms. Typically, it's 4 teaspoons for me, but it could be more or less for you, depending on where you live and the climate.
Finely chop the remaining walnuts.
Pour the glaze over the cooled loaf cake and sprinkle on the chopped walnuts. Let the glaze set before cutting into slices.

Notes

If you have the smaller, more common 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 loaf pan, you'll have a little too much batter, and the pan will overflow (ask me how I know that).

Reserve some batter from the loaf and make a few muffins on the side (Muffins should take about 15-20 minutes to bake, depending on the size of your muffin tin). Check doneness after the first 12-15 minutes with a cake tester. If you poke the center of a muffin and it comes out clean, it's done.

Nutrition