I have always loved the combination of caramel, walnuts and chocolate and here we are with this Walnut Caramel Mirror Cake, an elegant dessert with a caramel mirror glaze perfect for the upcoming Easter holiday. Walnut cake at the bottom, followed by a semisweet chocolate layer, caramelized toasted nuts cream, and a mascarpone and coffee mousse on top. Everything is coated with a caramel mirror glaze and decorated with a chocolate golden flower for o more elegant look.
How to make Walnut Caramel Mirror Cake
I know it seems complicated, but it works quite fast and each step is easy to prepare. It is best to start preparing this cake a day or two in advance as it requires freezing time.
How to prepare the walnut cake.
Preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C) and grease and line an 8 ½ inch (21cm) pan with parchment paper.
Separate the egg whites from the yolks and add a pinch of salt to the whites. Mix until foamy, then gradually add sugar and mix until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the ground walnuts and flour. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Once baked, let the cake cool completely.
Using an 8-inch (20cm) cake ring, cut the edges of the cake and transfer it into an 8-inch (20cm) springform pan lined with parchment paper.
How to prepare the chocolate layer
Start by melting the chocolate and cream together over a bain-marie. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the walnut cake and refrigerate to set.
How to prepare the caramel walnut cake layer
Start by toasting the walnuts in a pan and cutting them into smaller pieces once cooled. In a small bowl, mix the yolks with 3 tbsp (45g) of sugar until creamy and light yellow colored.
In a saucepan, combine 1/3 cup (70g) sugar with water and heat over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and caramelizes. Add butter, stir until melted, then add walnuts and salt. Finally, add the mixed yolks and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Cool slightly, then spread the walnut caramel layer over the chocolate layer and refrigerate until the mascarpone mousse is prepared.
How to prepare the mascarpone mousse
First, dissolve gelatin in cold water and add instant coffee, letting it swell for about 5 to 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix mascarpone until smooth, then add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Heat the gelatin mixture until dissolved, then pour it over the mascarpone mixture and mix to combine. In another bowl, mix cream until stiff peaks form, then gently fold it into the mascarpone mixture.
Place the walnut cake in the center of a 9-inch (23cm) parchment paper-lined pan or cakeware. Spread the mousse on top and edges of the cake, cover, and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
How to prepare the caramel mirror cake glaze
Dissolve gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water and let it swell for about 5 to 10 minutes. In a saucepan, dissolve cornstarch in 1 tbsp water and set aside. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and caramelizes. Add water, cream, dissolved cornstarch, and salt, then bring to a boil until thickened. Remove from heat, add gelatin, and stir to combine. Sieve the glaze and let it cool to 85°F (29°C).
Take the cake out of the freezer, defrost the edges with a hair dryer, and remove the cake from the pan. Pour the glaze over the top and edges of the cake, using an offset spatula to remove any drips. Decorate the bottom of the cake with chopped walnuts and refrigerate for several hours to defrost the cake and set the glaze.
How to prepare the chocolate flower
For the chocolate flower, melt semisweet chocolate over a bain-marie and add more chocolate for tempering. Brush the chocolate on parchment paper in the shape of flower petals, then refrigerate for about 10 minutes. Assemble the flower by arranging the petals on a parchment paper-lined surface with melted chocolate, then refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before decorating the cake. Optionally, brush golden powder on the leaves for decoration.
This Walnut Caramel Mirror Cake is definitely worth all the effort and is by far one of the most delicious cakes I’ve ever made.
Hope you will try this amazing Walnut Caramel Cake and don’t forget to share the photos with me on Instagram. Enjoy!
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Walnut Caramel Mirror Cake
Ingredients
Walnut Cake
- 2 egg whites
- Pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup (70g) sugar
- 2/3 cup (70g) walnuts , ground
- 2 tbsp (20g) all-purpose flour
Chocolate Layer
- 5.5 oz (150g) semisweet chocolate
- 3 tbsp (45ml) whipping cream
Walnut Caramel Layer
- 1/3 cup (70g) sugar , for caramel
- 1 tbsp (15ml) water
- 2/3 cup (70g) walnuts , toasted
- 5 tbsp (70g) butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tbsp (45g) sugar , for mixing with yolks
- pinch of salt
Mascarpone Mousse
- 16 oz (500g) mascarpone , room temperature
- 2/3 cup (80g) powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cup (360g) whipping cream (35% fat) , chilled
- 1 tbsp (10g) gelatin powder
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cold water
- 2 tsp (4g) instant coffee
- 1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract
Caramel Mirror Glaze
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1 tbsp (15ml) lemon juice or water
- 3.5 fl. oz (100ml) water
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp (3g) salt
- 2 tbsp (16g) cornstarch
- 1 tbsp (15ml) water , for mixing with cornstarch
- 1 tbsp (10g) gelatin powder
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cold water , for dissolving gelatin
Chocolate Flower
- 2.5 oz (70g) semisweet chocolate , for melting
- 1 oz (30g) semisweet chocolate , for tempering
- golden powder , optional
- chopped walnuts
Instructions
Prepare the walnut cake.
- Preheat oven to 325F (160C). Grease and line with parchment paper a 8 ½ inch (21cm) pan.
- Separate egg whites from the yolks. Add a pinch of salt over the whites and start mixing until foamy. Gradually add sugar and mix until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold in ground walnuts and flour. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Let it cool completely and use a 8 inch (20cm) cake ring to cut the edges of the cake. Transfer the cake into a 8 inch (20cm) springform pan, lined with parchment paper.
Prepare the chocolate layer.
- Place the chocolate and cream into a heatproof bowl and melt over bain-marie. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the walnut cake and refrigerate to set.
Prepare the caramel walnut layer.
- Toast the walnuts in a pan stirring constantly. When cooled enough cut in smaller pieces.
- In a small bowl mix the yolks with the 3 tbsp (45g) of sugar until creamy and light yellow colored.
- Place the 1/3 cup (70g) sugar with water into a saucepan. Place over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves and gets a caramel color.
- Add butter, stir until melted and then add walnuts and salt. Add mixed yolks and continue mixing just until it thickens, up to 1 minute. Don’t overcook Cool slightly.
- Spread the walnut caramel layer over the chocolate and refrigerate until the mascarpone mousse is prepared.
Prepare the mascarpone mousse.
- Dissolve gelatin in cold water, add instant coffee and let it swell for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl mix mascarpone until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add vanilla extract. Place the gelatin over low heat just until the gelatin dissolves and pour it over the mascarpone mixture and mix to combine.
- In another bowl mix cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the cream into mascarpone mixture.
- Place the walnut cake in the center of a 9 inch (23cm) parchment paper lined pan or cakeware from , as I’ve used.
- Spread the mousse on top and edges of the cake. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Prepare caramel mirror glaze.
- Dissolve gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water and let it swell for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl dissolve cornstarch in 1 tbsp water and set aside until ready to use.
- Place sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Place over medium low heat until sugar dissolves and gets a caramel color. Add water, cream, dissolved cornstarch and salt. Bring to a boil until thickens.
- Remove from heat, add gelatin and stir to combine.Sieve the glaze and let it cool to 85F (29C).
- Take the cake out of the freezer and use a hair dryer to defrost the edges. Remove the cake from the pan and place it over a rack or simply on a bowl placed over a parchment paper lined baking sheet to collect the excess.
- Pour the glaze on top and edges of the cake. Use an offset spatula to remove the drips and decorate the bottom of the cake with chopped walnuts. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and refrigerate for several hours to defrost the cake and set the glaze.
Prepare the chocolate flower.
- Use about two 5×15 inch (12x38cm) hard paper pieces and curve. Melt the 2.5 oz (70g) semisweet chocolate over bain marie. Remove from heat and add 1 oz (30g) of chocolate for tempering.
- Brush the chocolate on parchment paper in shape of flower petals. Make about seven or eight 4 inch (10cm) petals and about 8 smaller 2 inch (4cm) petals. Place the parchment paper over the prepared curved hard paper and refrigerate the petals for about 10 minutes, remove and peel from the parchment paper.
- Assemble the flower. On a parchment paper add a pit of melted chocolate and arrange the large petals. Add more melted chocolate and arrange the smaller petals. Add melted chocolate in the center and add chopped nuts. Refrigerate the flower for at least 15 minutes before decorating the cake. Slightly brush golden powder on the leaves if desired. Enjoy.
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Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @homecookingadventure on Instagram and hashtag it #homecookingadventure.
This is absolutely gorgeous! Almost too perfect to eat!
This is one of the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen, loved the video of you making this masterpiece
The cake is so beautiful. I can only hope it looks a little bit like yours when I try to make. You are a master. Thanks for all the great recipes
Another great idea, most likely with a heavenly taste, as I love to pieces the combination of walnuts, espresso and caramel. I want to try it tomorrow for an anniversary. I noted that, in order for the mousse to set, freezing was necessary. May I ask, when ready, should the cake be kept in the fridge? Would the mousse and mirror glaze hold well? How long would it last? Thank you very much!
Hi Antoanella.
Yes, the cake can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 day.
this cake looks so perfect and so delicious, I wanna try it, but we don’t have mascarpone were I live, what can I use instead? and can I replace walnuts wth peanuts? thank’s a lot
Hi Djamila.
You can use any other cream chesse instead of mascarpone and also can use walnuts.
This cake is out of this world. Thank you so much for all your recipe. I’m a big fan and love all your recipes. I would appreciate if you can help me and tell me what is the 9″ pan you are using in this recipe please.
Thank you in advance,
With all my gratitude
Imane
Hi Imane.
It's from Delicake Australia.https://www.delicake.com.au/shop-delicake-masters/
First saw in Youtube and cannot help to try it out. It’s absolutely gorgeous, for both the looking and the taste! I love it and so do all my family and friends. Thank you so much for this great creation.
wow, the cake is beautiful and looks delicious
This is one of the most beautiful and delectable cakes I have ever seen. Loved it. I would say this is a perfect treat for the party going to happen next week at my house.
Thank you for this AMAZING recipe! This is by far my most favorite recipe from Pinterest!
Thanks for a great recipe. May i ask how long should i wait for the cake ready after take it out from the freezer?
Thanks,
Tim
Hi Tim.
The cake can be defrosted in few hours.
Absolutely beautiful cake. I am planning to try making this cake this month for my mom’s birthday. I am not the best cook so I hope it will turn fine. I have one question if you might know the answer: will the amount of ingredients be fine for 22cm for base layers and 26cm pan for the cake(mousse)? I only have these two sizes of pans, do you think there will be enough ingredients at least for mascarpone mousse and caramel mirror glaze or should I increase certain infredients?
Hello Fran.
Use the same quantities but the cake will not be as tall.
Beautiful Cake, wondering if I do not want to add coffee, do I have to replace it with something else, or can I just leave it out? Thanks
Hello Christine.
You can replace the coffee with vanilla.
I am going to make this for Thanksgiving but need to assemble over this weekend. Should I glaze and decorate at the last moment (Wednesday night)? Or would the glaze and flower hold well over the week waiting for Thursday? Storing for that long, fridge or freezer? Thanks so much, this is truly an inspiring project and lovely combination of some of my favorite flavors.
I made this, and it was both beautiful and delicious. One issue I had was the caramel walnut layer was very hard which made the cake somewhat difficult to cut and eat. Is there a way to soften the caramel, or did I do something obviously wrong?
Hi John.
You probably overcooked the caramel mixture that's why the caramel hardened.
Hello dear,
this cake looks so perfect and so delicious, I have plan to make it for my daughter in law baby shower party. Would you please let me know if I can make it ahead of time , freeze it and deliver it to venue ? Do you think it may fallen apart if needs to be in moving car for 30 minutes?
Many thanks for beautiful and delicious ideas,
Maryam
Hi!
I had a question. I do not have the 9-inch pan you used. Can I use a stainless steel mousse bottomless cake round instead?
Hello! I would like to make this cake. I will have a lot of other things to bake at the same time so here is my question: Can I make this cake 4 days in advance and keep it in freezer until I’m ready to put the glaze and finish it?
Hello I love your cakes❤️ what can I add instead of cornstarch cause I don’t have it in my country?❤️
use flour instead
I have made it on Sunday: it is absolutely fabulous! Thank you for inspiration!
Looking forward to making more recipes!
Made it. It was so delicious and looked very very nice.
Thank you
This cake looks amazing!
We don’t like the taste of coffee in cakes.
Is it possible to use Baileys instead?
Hi..
Thank you for the wonderful recipe????
Can I replace walnuts with almonds.
Hi Ella,
I noticed that Delicake is larger than the baking pan and is allowing the mascarpone mousse layer to go all the way down to the bottom. My baking pan is 10″ in diameter and 3″ high and I don’t have a Delicake container. I am planning to put mascarpone mousse layer just on top of caramel walnut layer. Do you think I should reduced the size of of mascarpone mousse layer ingredients size in half, because it will be too much and can overflow? For example 8oz of mascarpone instead of 16oz, and etc…? Thank you in advance.
Hi!
My water keeps evaporating in my sugar before it gets any color in it. What should I do!?
Hey, thanks for the great recipe. And, can I use cold brew coffee instead of instant coffee?
Super easy to make just followed steps, cannot wait to taste
Hi There, I’m in the process of making this cake, its in the freezer setting the mouse (such a fun cake to construct). Once I have added the mirror glaze, can I leave it in the fridge for a day or two before serving or will mouse melt?
It is ok to let in in the fridge for a day or two. It won’t melt. Enjoy!
Thanks Lovely, cant wait to finish making this beautiful cake but more importantly eating it 🙂
Cake was simply AMAZING. Made it thrice. May I ask what brand of corn starch you used as the one we get here made the caramel layer very cloudy. Was a big hit with my family
Hello, I really don’t like the idea of making cheesecake or mousse cake without baking. So just wondering if I can bake this cake like a regular cheesecake? Thanks
I have many baked cheesecake recipes. I recommend trying those recipes. For instance try this amazing Pecan Cheesecake. https://www.homecookingadventure.com/pecan-pie-cheesecake/
Hi Ella,
Sorry if this is obvious but, would you serve it straight from the fridge? Or let it sit on the counter a bit before serving? Mine is in the freezer now so wondering what to do when the time comes, thanks!
Let it thaw in the fridge and yes, serve it straight from the fridge.
Hello Ella,
I was wondering if it would be okay to make the cake in advance and keep it for three days in the freezer before finishing it with the caramel glaze? Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
Definitely.. It is a great recipe to make in advance. You can keep it even more than 3 days in the freezer.