Honeyed Walnut Cake

Ok, so, this one was a bit difficult to name.
It's not a "cake" in the baked-and-eaten-with-a-cup-of-tea dessert-y, cake-y texture sense of the word.
I mean it more as a shape, a configuration, the tight togetherness of the ingredients.
While going through potential words in English to describe the form, they sounded so inelegant: brick, log, block, slab, chunk... bleh.
Sometimes the English language is decidedly lacking in charm.
Then I thought about other, more strictly fruit and nut confections- pressed date and almond, fig and walnut- and with a slight stretch, even panforte fits the bill. They're cakes. So cake it shall be.

I had found something like this months back, and it was wonderful to nibble with a glass of red wine, or as dessert with a splash of Port. The problem being, ooh, it was pretty expensive.
I thought maybe I could make it myself for much cheaper.
There are four ingredients, just like the other one. Maybe it's not exact proportion or technique-wise, but it's really good and certainly not cost-prohibitive.
 

 

I'd recommend it for a wine and cheese party, with appetizers, or for after dinner as part of cheese based dessert board along with that Port, maybe some dark chocolate... go ahead and add fruit, too (though this by itself is perfectly fine).

You're going to use two amber liquids here- one more pale golden, the other a bit deeper- two syrups I'd be willing to bet many, if not most, people have on hand anyway.
Honey and maple syrup, but make it pure maple syrup, real maple syrup, not a thick corn syrup based concoction.
Personally, I think it's good both are included here. Honey alone can be intense at times, not my most favorite ingredient, but it does have it's place. 
The syrups are cooked to reduce a bit and become the cement holding the walnut bits together.
I didn't give a temperature for cooking the syrup... it's a small amount, and it would difficult to get an accurate reading on a thermometer, so in this case it's more sensorial than measurable and exact.

Of course the recipe can be halved for a smaller group, or if you prefer assurance it will disappear.

Test the size of your mould after you've broken up the toasted walnuts. You can use a ring mould, a metal cup measure, something rectangular if you've got it, if you're careful- a metal can with both ends cut out... perhaps even a wide-mouth jar (as long as you'd be able to remove the finised cake). Place the  nuts in the container you plan to use and shake things a bit so the walnuts fall into place, giving you a general idea how things will fit.

A friend had also suggested sprinkling the mould with sesame seeds to help combat the stickiness you may encounter upon serving (at least the bottom, which becomes the top when unmoulded).

I'm going to recommend doing this by weight, at the very least for the walnuts since their shape is so irregular...


Honeyed Walnut Cake 
(6-8 portions?) 

150 g whole walnuts (this comes to about 1 1/2 c in volume)
4 T honey (60 ml)
2 T maple syrup (30 ml)
1/4 t fine sea salt (small for weight, but my measure says 1.2 ml)

Toast the walnuts lightly in a preheated 325 F (163 C) oven 7-10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, and when cool enough to handle, break the walnuts into pieces (I usually do this by hand as I think it gives a nice size with soft edges, just twisting each walnut. Then I rub handfuls of the walnuts a bit between my palms to remove any loose skin.)
Bring the honey, maple syrup, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium, then reduce the heat a bit and cook 5 minutes, swirling the pan several times. You'll have to watch it, because the honey mixture can really bubble and expand.
(The syrup can quickly reduce and become stiff, so it's important not to overcook it, likewise it's important not to cook at too high a heat as the sugars can burn. You'll only know it it cooked too much for sure afterwards when the walnut cake is cool... it may be a crispier, stiffer confection to slice, but it's still very edible.)
Turn off the heat and stir the walnuts through for a couple minutes, to warm them again and make sure everything is coated nicely.
Have a mould at the ready, lined with lightly buttered or sprayed parchment or waxed paper. Spoon/pour the walnut mixture into the prepared mould. Fold over the edges of the paper so that everything is contained within the mould and press down so the nuts all find their place and are all tightly packed together.
Let cool completely- it may take a couple hours since it's so dense.
Unmould, unwrap, slice and enjoy with wine and cheese, etc., as an appetizer or a dessert.