Walnut Loaf Cake

A juicy vanilla walnut loaf cake, just perfect for afternoon tea or a midday snack. Delicious, and packed with goodness.

Recipe by Trisha Jones on November 5, 2013

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT1H

Total time: PT1H10M

Rating

4.8 stars ( reviews)

Keywords

loaf, cake, loaf cake, british cake, british cuisine, cake time, walnut cake, sponge cake, walnut loaf cake, easy baking, home baking, walnut recipes, loaf cake recipes, afternoon tea cakes, nut cakes, simple cake recipes, dessert recipes, home-cooked desserts, beginner baking, DIY cakes, holiday baking, sweet treats, quick cakes

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups (200g) walnuts, shelled & roasted
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter (125g), softened
1 cup (210g) caster sugar
1 3/4 cups (210g) plain flour
1 tsp (5g) baking powder
2 large eggs
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla essence

Steps

Prepare the Loaf Pan
- Grease and Line
Preheat the Oven
- Set Temperature
Prepare the Walnuts
- Crush Walnuts
Cream Butter and Sugar
- Mix
Add Eggs
- Incorporate Eggs
Incorporate Dry Ingredients
- Mix Dry Ingredients
Add Final Ingredients
- Add Flavorings
Fill the Loaf Pan
- Pour the Batter
Bake
- Cooking Time
Cool and Serve
- Cooling
- Serving Suggestion

Reviews

Mei Hensley on 2026-03-14 (5 stars):
Made this walnut loaf cake last weekend. Was awesome. The walnut pieces added just the right crunch. A hit!
Jason Müller on 2026-03-21 (4 stars):
Baked this for a weekend treat! Tasted great, though I think it needed a little extra time in my oven for the center to set fully. Still, everyone enjoyed it.
Colette Manning on 2026-03-22 (5 stars):
the yoghurt in the batter is what keeps this from drying out. I've made walnut cakes without it and they're always denser and less forgiving if you overbake by even a few minutes.
Phil R. on 2026-04-05 (5 stars):
My oven runs hot so I did 55 min at 150C with foil on top for the last 20 and it came out perfectly. Every oven is different and that's the frustrating part of baking honestly.
Owen on 2026-04-11 (5 stars):
I keep a loaf in the freezer now, sliced. two minutes in the toaster straight from frozen and the outside crisps up while the inside stays soft from the yoghurt in the batter. better than fresh honestly.
Jennifer Davis on 2026-04-18 (4 stars):
The cake turned out with a good walnut flavour but I hit Nicholas's timing issue. At 30 minutes mine was nowhere near done, needed closer to 55 to come clean off a skewer. Oven thermometer says my oven runs true, so the recipe might genuinely need a longer bake time than the printed number. Good crumb once it got there.
Amy B. on 2026-04-21 (5 stars):
mom baked hers with frosting. this was better.