So I have been doing plenty of spring cleaning around here.
Yes, I’m about six months late, don’t judge me.

I had over 100 cooking magazines and decided to go through them all, clip the recipes I wanted to save and toss the rest. A good, green girl would have recycled the magazines, again I say don’t judge me.

It was interesting to see which magazines I saved the most recipes from and there were even two magazines in which no recipes enticed me at all.

The top magazines I saved from were Cooking Light, Everyday with Racheal Ray, Food Network Magazine and Cooks Illustrated. I saved about 75 recipes total, and around 30 came from Cooking Light. The magazines I saved the least from were Saveur, Gourmet and Bon Appetit. I did clip a few beautiful pictures for inspiration, but I found most of the recipes to be a bit odd.

I saw this recipe in an issue of Cooking Light. It looked fantastic and the picture in the magazine was so eye catching. I brought this cake to a cookout on Labor Day and it didn’t last long.

I made a few modifications in red.

Walnut Cake
Cooking Light, September 2008

2 cups AP Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
7 TBS Butter, room temperature
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Espresso Powder
2 large Eggs
1 large Egg White
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup low-fat Buttermilk
6 TBS Walnuts, toasted and chopped

prepare a 13X9 inch baking pan
preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring well with a whisk.
2. Place 7 tablespoons butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a mixing bowl; beat at medium-high speed with a mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in egg white. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
3. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
4. Fold in 6 tablespoons walnuts.
5. Scrape batter into a 13 x 9–inch prepared pan.
6. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Creamy Praline Frosting
Cooking Light, September 2008

1/2 cup Brown Sugar
6 TBS Low Fat Milk
2 TBS Butter
1 TBS Corn Syrup
Pinch of Salt
2 cups Powdered Sugar
2 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 TBS Walnuts, toasted and chopped (I used 1 cup)

1. To prepare frosting, place 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tablespoons butter, corn syrup, and dash of salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook 2 minutes.
2. Scrape brown sugar mixture into a bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons milk and powdered sugar; beat with a mixer at high speed 2 minutes or until slightly cooled and thick. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
3. Spread frosting in an even layer over cooled cake; sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Let the cake stand until the frosting sets; cut into squares.
The frosting was perfectly creamy and sweet, I could have ate it with a spoon. The cake was good, though not fantastic. The cake was full of nuts so it was nice and crunchy and it stayed moist for days. I think maybe my walnuts were just a bit too bitter and it would have been better with a more sugar. If you like your desserts nutty and not too sweet, then this cake may work for you.