Being an eternal autumn lover (even if I was born in winter), this year I decided to give it a warm welcome with a delicious cake that crowns the fall flavors in its specific colours. The walnut and caramel flavors and the crispy crust of the Swiss cake was the perfect choice for the first days of autumn and as I love figs too, I decided to give it a twist with a slighlty sour tinge.
Engadiner Nusstorte (aka Bünder Nusstorte) is a cake born in Engadine valley in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. The story says that even if there were nut cakes in the nineteenth century they were different from the one created by the baker Fausto Pult in 1926, who presented it to the public in 1934 at the Mustermesse fair in Basel making it famous.
The shortcrust pastry used to make the Engadine Walnut Cake ( named “Fuatscha Grassa”) was well known among the people of Engadine as they wwre already using it to prepare their Sunday traditional sweets. What makes walnut cake so special is the filling with nuts, caramel and cream – a memorable combination that made this Swiss culinary classic famous all over the world.
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 300g flour
- 180g butter
- 120g confectioners’ sugar
- 2 large eggs
- a pinch of salt
- brown sugar crystals
Filling:
- 150g brown sugar
- 200g walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 100ml cream
- 20g butter
- 2tbs honey
- 2tbs lemon juice
Caramelized figs:
- 8 figs
- 1tbs honey
- 1tbs butter
- 1tbs Amaretto
Instructions:
- Place the flour in a mixing bowl, cut the butter into small pieces, rub the flour and butter rapidly between the tips of your fingers until you get a sandy dough
- Add beaten egg with sugar and salt and blend quickly into a smooth dough. Make a ball, wrap it in plastic and cool it in the refrigerator for 30′
- Butter a false-bottomed cake pan 24 cm in diameter, dust with flour.
- Remove the dough from refrigerator, roll out 2/3 the dough to a thickness of 3 mm and line the pan leaving a 3.5cm edge; let it cool in the refrigerator again
- In a small saucepan caramelize the 75g of sugar with 2-3 tbs of water until a light brown.
- In another saucepan boil the remaining sugar with honey, lemon juice, butter and cream. Pour the caramel cream over the caramel and bring to the boil.
- Stir in the nuts and mix well
- Cut the figs in four and caramelize them with butter, honey and Amaretto
- Prick the pastry with a fork and pour the nut-mixture into the pan. Spread out evenly. Add the figs over the nut-mixture
- Roll out the remaining dough cut into a circle the size of the baking pan and cover the nut-mixture. Press edges together and baste the top with beaten egg. Sprinkle some sugar crystals over and add some nuts (optional)
- Bake for 50-55 minutes in the pre heated oven at 190°C.
- Take the cake out of the pan when it is lukewarm and leave it on a cake rack to cool.
For a special treat I recommend a glass of Moscato Passito di Chambave 
Enjoy!
Oh, dear Fall, I so love thee!
Nu stiam de aceasta prajitura, e o surpriza si m-ai cucerit cu ea.
Corinush, eu am descoperit-o anul trecut si mi-a placut tare mult ( considerand ca mor dupa nuci si caramel). Anul asta m-am gandit sa o modific putin cu smochinele si a iesit nemaipomenit de buna. Ti-o recomand cu mare drag. <3
arata intr-un mare fel, mi-ai facut o pofta:)
Daca ai fi mai aproape, Ioana!!!! <3 <3
O adevarata prajitura de toamna! Trebuie sa fie foarte buna. La descrierea umpluturii deja nu ma mai puteam concentra pe citit ci am inceput sa-mi amintesc de punga cu nuci ce am adus-o de curand de la bunica :)). Acum stiu ce le asteapta! ♥
Noua ne-a placut mult de tot si varianta “originala” fara smochine. Daca-ti plac nucile si caramelul, go for it, Moni! <3 Imi inchipui deja ce frumusete de praji o sa faci tu
Uau!
Pe bune, mi s-a incleiat gura de pofta!
Smochinele sint grozave iar in prajitura, cind se coc putin si isi leaga dulceata cred ca sint belea.
Mmmmm, ce bunatate!
Cam asa ceva, Kyra! In combinatie cu aroma de nuci si caramel sunt divine!!! <3
Arata demential!
I love baking with figs. Your cake looks amazing, and I am pinning! And, yes, the glass of Moscato would not hurt!
I adore figs and this tart is more delicious than it looks so you must try it ;). Thaanks for passing by.