Grisons walnut cake

Cake, tart, pie; from Grisons, from Engadine, from Graubünden… this Swiss specialty apparently has as many names as it has recipes, and I haven’t even mentioned the non-French names (Bündner Nusstorte or Tuorta da Nusch Engiadinaisa), but the base remains the same: a shortcrust pastry, lots of nuts, and honey caramel as a binder. It’s a very easy cake to make and keeps well for several days (I even read that if well-wrapped, it can last several weeks in the fridge, worth testing!). Well, as you can imagine from the list of ingredients, it’s a very rich dessert, and if I were to make it again, I think I’d rather make it in a frame than in a ring so I could serve it in small brownie-style squares 😊
 
 
 

Ingredients:
I used walnuts and honey from Koro: code ILETAITUNGATEAU for 5% off the entire site (non-affiliate).
 

Perforated baking sheet 

 Preparation time: 40 minutes + 30 minutes of baking
 For a cake of 20 to 24cm in diameter depending on the desired thickness:

 

The shortcrust pastry:

 300g of flour
 100g of sugar
 175g of butter
 1 egg
 
 Mix the flour with the sugar and the butter cut into small cubes until you get a crumble-like texture.
 
 
 
 Add the egg and mix quickly to form a ball.
 
 
 
 Divide the dough into two pieces, one larger than the other, wrap them in cling film, and refrigerate them for at least 1 hour. In the meantime, you can prepare the filling.
 
 
 
 

The filling:

 220g of sugar
 25g of water
 200g of heavy cream
 40g of honey
 300g of walnuts
 
 Make a caramel with the sugar and water.
 
 
 
 When it has a nice amber color, deglaze it with the heavy cream, then add the honey and walnuts (whole or lightly chopped, depending on your preference).
 
 
 
 Continue cooking for a few minutes until the caramel coats the walnuts well and the mixture becomes syrupy.
 Let cool slightly.
 
 

Baking:

 1 egg for the glaze
 
 Roll out the larger of your two doughs and line a greased 24cm ring or pan. Pour in the walnut caramel, pressing the mixture down well.
 
 
 
 Then roll out the second dough and place it on top to form a pie (if needed, you can use a little water to seal the two doughs).
 
 
 
 Glaze the cake with a beaten egg using a brush, then you can create a pattern on top with the back of a knife if you wish; pierce a few holes on the surface to allow the steam to escape during baking without causing the cake to burst. Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes. Let cool at room temperature before unmolding and enjoying!