The Black Walnut

Black walnuts folklore

My Grandma and aunties all used boiled black walnut hulls to wash there black hair in.
They had black hair until there late 90s.

Black Walnut Pound cake
Ingredients


1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla flavor pudding mix
4 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups ground black walnuts
Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch tube pan.

2.In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, oil and water for 2 minutes using an electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in the ground walnuts. Pour into the prepared pan.

3.Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan before inverting onto a plate to serve.

Footnotes
Tip Always freeze my walnuts before grinding them in a food processor.

Black Walnut Cake

Ingredients
Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped black walnuts*

Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more as necessary
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners’ sugar
2 cups finely chopped black walnuts, for garnish (optional)*

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans.

For the cake: In a medium bowl, stir together flour and baking soda; set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream together shortening and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add flour mixture, mix until just combined. Stir in black walnuts.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare frosting. Melt butter in small saucepan. Add brown sugar and 1/3 cup cream. Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl.

Using a handheld electric mixer, beat in confectioners' sugar a little at a time until smooth. If frosting is too thick, add 1 tablespoon heavy cream at a time until consistency is right. Sandwich 2 layers of cake with frosting. Frost the outside of the cake. Press chopped black walnuts on the sides of the cake, if desired.
*Cook's Note: DO NOT substitute English walnuts for black walnuts.