Vanilla Walnut Loaf Cake

This one is super special as I never thought I would be able to even get to close to my Dadi's (grandma) cakes which she lovingly baked each Christmas. I tried hard to replicate her taste and I got so close and the minute I tasted this it brought a rush of all the memories I have with her. MAA as I fondly called her made her cakes with simple ingredients and spent hours and hours to make them on each Christmas. As a little girl I just sat there and watch her make batch by batch and use the HANDWO cooker to bake it on a gas stove and each one just came out to be perfect as her. Anyone who knows me and my family would vouch for her cakes so much so that everyone made sure to visit us on christmas day just to eat these cakes. She mainly made tutti frutti and dry fruit cakes with most basic ingredients like flour, eggs, baking powder, milk , sugar and butter. Now I am not an expert like her but yesterday I tried to recall all the memories and try it out myself to see if I can make something close to her recipe and yet call my own. So here comes the most simple & humble but delectably delightful VANILLA WALNUT LOAF CAKE as an ode to my MAA who is watching me from heaven and blessing me while I keep her legacy alive. This recipe has my own little add ons and changes and yet the same love and memories associated with my MAA's cakes. I am sure you are going to love it as much as I did and going to make it for the days you just want to have some nice homemade fuss free dessert in the form of a cake. This cake is perfect to have with your morning coffees or evening snack or even midnight dessert cravings. Now baking involves a lot of precision but this one is simple and I promise whether you are a baker or not you'll be able to pull it off like a pro as its super duper easy. I was super duper packed so I wasn't able to the behind the scenes for this one so just sharing the final product, but it's not difficult to figure out. So what you waiting for grab your mixing bowls and jot down these ingredients and bake one today. PREP TIME: 20 Mins COOK TIME: 35-40 Mins SERVES: Makes 2 Loaf cakes Ingredients: 3 Cups All purpose Flour 3 Eggs Room Temp 1 stick unsalted butter Room temp 2 cups Sugar (use fine sugar) 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract 1 Cup whole milk 1 Cup Walnuts (dry roasted and chopped small) 2 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder 2 loaf pans greased with butter 1/4 teaspoon salt STEP 1: In a mixing bowl sieve together the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt and set aside followed by dry roasting the walnuts till they are nice and toasty for about 3-4 mins and then let them cool them and chop them in to small pieces. Then just take 2-3 spoons of your dry flour mixture and coat them STEP 2: In another mixing bowl using a stand mixer add in the butter and sugar and mix till it becomes fluffy and the butter sugar mixture becomes light yellow (pale) in color. If you are using the kitchen aid than use the paddle attachment and mix the butter & sugar till it becomes pale or light yellow on a medium high speed for about 3 minutes. STEP 3: Reduce the speed to low and crack in one egg at a time till everything is nicely incorporated together. You can now add in your vanilla extract and mix on low till everything is mix well for about a minute. DO NOT OVER MIX. STEP 4: Now gradually add in your dry ingredients which are your all purpose flour baking powder and salt in three small batches till everything is nicely mixed. Also add in your milk so the mixture is like semi thick in consistency. REMEMBER do it on a SLOW SPEED and do not over mix the batter. STEP 5: Pre- Heat the oven to 375 degrees and then gently fold in your walnuts in you mixture with a spatula in clock wise direction and then divide the mixture equally into 2 loaf pans greased with butter. STEP 6: Bake it for about 35-40 Mins till the cake is nice and brown on all sides and then check with a toothpick poking it in the center till it comes out clean. MAKE SURE TO NOT OVERCOOK THE CAKE or else it will become hard and dry. LET it cool completely and then slice and serve. Goes perfect with a hot cup of coffee or even relish it by itself. BON APPETIT !!!! #loafcake #vanillacake #walnutcake #simplecake #simplecakerecipe #spicendiced #christmascake #loafcakes