Go Back
–+ servings
a chocolate cake with dripping ganache, walnut, chocolate chips, and chocolate frosting
Print Pin
5 from 16 votes

Chocolate Walnut Cake

Rich chocolate cake with fudgy chocolate frosting and crunchy walnuts. If you're craving chocolate, you need to try this cake!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 16 Slices
Calories 1366kcal
Author Krystle Smith

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake

  • 4 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • ½ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 4 Teaspoons Baking Soda
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt
  • 4 Cups Water
  • 4 Cups White Sugar
  • 10 Ounces Dark Chocolate Roughly Chopped
  • 12 Tablespoons Butter Softened
  • 4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
  • 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2 Cups Walnuts Roughly Chopped

For the Vanilla Buttercream

  • 1 ½ Cups Butter Softened
  • 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • 4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

For the Chocolate Buttercream

  • ¾ Cup Butter Softened
  • 4 Ounces Cream Cheese Softened
  • 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
  • ¼ Teaspoon Salt
  • 3 Cups Powder Sugar
  • 4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

For the Walnut Topping

  • 2 Cups Walnuts Roughly Chopped
  • 1 ½ Cups Mini Chocolate Chips

For the Chocolate Ganache

  • 1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
  • ½ Cup Heavy Cream

Instructions

For the Cake

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray (3) 9 inch cake pans with Pam baking spray.
  • In a medium kettle, combine water and sugar. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 minute.
  • Remove from heat and whisk in the dark chocolate and butter until melted. Add in oil and vanilla.
  • Cool slightly and whisk in eggs one at a time. Then stir in cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • Gradually stir in flour a little at a time until just combined. Do not over mix.
  • Fold in walnuts.
  • Evenly divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.

For the Vanilla Frosting

  • In a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Stir in powdered sugar a little at a time. Add heavy cream as needed to reach your desired consistency.

For the Chocolate Frosting

  • In a large bowl combine butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Stir in cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt.
    Add powdered sugar a little at a time, adding heavy cream as needed.

For the Walnut Mixture

  • In a small bowl, combine walnuts and chocolate chips.

For the Ganache

  • In a small kettle , heat up the heavy whipping cream until steaming. Pour over chocolate chips. Allow to stand for 1 minute before whisking until smooth

Putting It All Together

  • Frost the first cake layer with around 1 cup of frosting.
  • Place the second cake layer on top, and repeat.
  • Top with the final cake layer.
  • Spread chocolate frosting over the top and down the sides of the top layer.
  • Coat the bottom of the cake with the walnut/chocolate chip mix
  • Drip ganache down the sides of the cake by using a squeeze bottle.
  • Pipe dollops of chocolate frosting on top using a star tip.
  • Sprinkle with remaining walnut and chocolate chips.

Notes

Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips

  1. Cocoa Powder: I used Hershey's natural unsweetened Cocoa powder. 
  2. Dark Chocolate: I used Nestle's dark chocolate baking bar.  Easily chop by using a chef's knife and starting at the corners. Look for it in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips.
  3. Walnuts: Walnuts can be very expensive. Buy walnuts in the shell or whole to save money vs. using pre-chopped.
  4. Cake Mix: Feel free to use a cake mix instead if you'd prefer.

Tips and Tricks

  1. If you don't have Pam baking spray (baking spray with flour), you can use regular baking spray sprinkled with flour or cocoa powder.
  2. Don't Over Mix: Stir until the flour is just incorporated. Overmixing can lead to a tough, dense cake.
  3. Don't Over Bake: Cake is done when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. If it has cake batter on it, keep baking for several minutes.
  4. Use room temperature ingredients to help everything come together.
  5. Use a cake leveler for flat layers and easy stacking.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 1366kcal | Carbohydrates: 151g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 83g | Saturated Fat: 39g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 164mg | Sodium: 971mg | Potassium: 549mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 114g | Vitamin A: 1490IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 156mg | Iron: 6mg