Get #BakingCracked with our mini walnut masterclass

When it comes to baking, walnuts have been a traditional ingredient in bakes for hundreds of years.  Their unique and delicious taste and texture, means they’re often used in traditional bakes such as banana bread, muffins and cookies, however today walnuts are used for so much more, including in savoury bakes, pizzas, flatbreads, pies and snack foods.

To help you use California Walnuts in your baking, we’ve put together a mini ‘California Walnut Baking Masterclass. Simply follow the mini guide below and you’ll have #BakingCracked!

Does ‘size matter’?

  • Walnut halves show off the natural shape of the nut and are ideal for decorating cakes, added as a topping or including in trail mixes and, of course, make the perfect snack!
  • Roughly chopped pieces are perfect for bakes requiring a chunkier texture for example, a delicious rocky road bar, cookies, tea loaves, bread dough and pizza toppings.
  • Finely chopped pieces of walnuts give more of an even distribution amongst your bakes and are perfect for sponge cakes allowing for that deliciously distinctive flavour to be detected in every bite!
  • Ground walnuts can be used to replace flour containing gluten, reduce carbohydrate content, increase fibre, thicken soups and sauces.

Some more top tips…

  • Once you’ve opened your bag of walnuts, store them in the fridge, to keep them tasting as fresh as the day you bought them. Keep them away from foods with strong odours, and they’ll keep for up to six months.  For longer storage, keep them in the freezer – they thaw quickly and can be used almost immediately.
  • Wait to shell or chop walnuts until you’re ready to use them. The same applies for ground walnut meal; don’t grind walnuts until you’re ready to add the walnut meal to your recipe. This will help maintain great flavour.
  • Roasting your walnuts heightens the flavour and aroma while increasing the crunchy mouthfeel. Roasted walnuts work well in things like no-bake energy bars and ready to eat snack mixes.
  • Ever wondered how to keep walnuts from sinking to the bottom of a cake? The best method is to slightly warm them (not hot) in the oven, then toss in all-purpose flour to coat before adding them to the cake batter.
  • For any leftover walnuts, whizz them in a food processor with oats, plain flour, butter and brown sugar for a perfect rustic crumble topping – perfect for this time of year.
  • Walnuts from California can be identified on pack by looking at the origin, it will either say Product of USA or California.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our mini walnut baking masterclass. If you are ready to get baking with California Walnuts, get cracking with some of the bakes in our recipe section here: https://www.californiawalnuts.co.uk/recipe-database/