Black Walnut Cake
Ingredients:
- butter, room temperature - 8 T
- vegetable shortening - 1/2 cup
- sugar - 2 cups
- eggs - 4
- flour - 3 1/2 cups
- baking soda - 2 tsp
- salt - 1/2 tsp
- buttermilk - 1 1/2 cups
- vanilla extract - 2 tsp
- ground black walnuts - 1 1/2 cups
- Frosting --
- cream cheese, room temperature - 8 ounces
- butter, room temperature - 1/2 pound
- powdered sugar, sifted - 8 cups
- vanilla extract - 1 T
Instructions:
In a bowl, cream together butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beat well each addition. In a second bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk, mix well. Stir in vanilla, add walnuts, stir.
Evenly divide batter between 3 - 9 inch greased round cake pans. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Completely cool cakes in the pans.
Prepare frosting -- in a bowl, beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Beat in the butter. Slowly beat in powdered sugar, add vanilla, beat. Place one cake layer on a serving plate, cover with frosting, add second layer, frost, add third cake layer. Frost entire top and sides of cake.
