Some recipes come from friends, some from cookbooks, this one came from my mum.
This fragrant Armenian nutmeg cake is a simple and traditional dessert cake with warm spiced flavours, a crunchy base topped with a moist, nutty cake layer. If you love a special-but-simple cake, you'll also want to try my Persian Love Cake or Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Armenian Nutmeg Cake
🕒 Ready In: 1 hour 5 minutes
👪 Serves: 12
🍰 Calories: 336kcal per serve
🥣 Main Ingredients: flour, brown sugar, almond meal, walnuts, nutmeg
📖 Dietary Info: freezer-friendly
⭐ Why You'll Love It: A buttery crust topped with a moist, warmly spiced cake, easy to make yet feels genuinely special.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
"My mum used to bake 'Armenian Nutmeg Slice' when I was a kid and my siblings and I loved it. I stumbled across this recipe looking for mum's version... it was a total hit. I am enjoying the last slice with a cup of chai as I type this." - Tim
I'm so happy to share this recipe, which I recently discovered when my mum baked it for a family get-together. Turns out it was her favourite cake as a child when her grandmother baked, and had been forgotten until recently.
Now I love a good Caramel Mud Cake or squidgy Jelly Slice as much as anyone, but one bite of this spiced nutmeg cake and I was hooked.
Jump to:
Why You're Going To Love This Cake
- Perfect for so many occasions - beautiful with coffee or chai for morning tea, or served as a dessert cake as it was traditionally baked.
- Not overly sweet - the warm spice, biscuity crust and walnuts are the real drawcard.
- Simple to make, yet special - basic baking ingredients, elegant result.
- Freezes well - bake ahead and freeze whole, or wrap individual slices for the lunchbox.
Nutmeg Cake Ingredients
This recipe makes a decent-sized cake, serving up to 12, and only requires basic baking ingredients.
- Almond meal - the same as ground almonds, available from the nuts section of most supermarkets.
- Walnuts - roughly chopped, studded through the cake layer.
- Nutmeg - ground works well, but freshly grated nutmeg is even better if you can source it.
- Sour cream - full fat gives the best flavour and texture.
- Bicarbonate of soda - also known as baking soda.
Variations
- Christmassy twist - stir around ½ cup of raisins, mixed dried fruit or chopped nuts (cashews and pecans both work beautifully) into the cake layer for a festive version.
- Yoghurt swap - replace the milk and sour cream combination with plain Greek yoghurt (same total quantity) for a slightly tangier, softer crumb.
- Nut-free - leave out the walnuts and almond meal, replacing the almond meal with an equal quantity of extra plain flour.
- Extra spiced - add a pinch of cinnamon or cardamom alongside the nutmeg for a deeper warmth.
How To Make Armenian Nutmeg Cake
The warm and spicy aromas in your kitchen while this cake bakes are just heavenly.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method.
- Step 1: Make the crumb. Combine the flours, brown sugar and almond meal, then rub through the cold butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Step 2: Press the base. Press one-third of the crumb mixture firmly into the base of the prepared tin.
- Step 3: Make the cake layer. Stir the walnuts and nutmeg through the remaining crumb, then add the milk, sour cream, egg and bi-carb and mix well.
- Step 4: Assemble and bake. Gently pour the (quite runny) mixture over the base and bake for 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool before removing from the tin, and dust with icing sugar to serve.
Recipe Tips
- Top tip: use cold butter for the crust; it forms a much better base than softened butter.
- Line your springform tin with baking paper; it makes removing the cake and protecting the crust much easier.
- Use other ingredients at room temperature (milk, sour cream, egg) so everything combines evenly.
- Browning too quickly? Loosely cover with foil and continue baking.
- Storage: stores well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: wrap well and freeze whole or in individual slices for up to 3 months.
Armenian Nutmeg Cake FAQs
Insert a skewer into the middle of the cake near the end of baking time. If it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, it's done. If wet, bake for a few more minutes and test again.
It's hard to know the true origin, though it's said the cake dates back to the 16th century under the Ottoman Empire. This particular version was a treasured family recipe, passed down through generations.
It's not recommended. The base and crumb structure is what gives this cake its signature contrast between the buttery crust and the soft spiced top, mixing it all together will bake more like a plain spice cake and lose that texture.
Yes, if you don't have a springform pan, use a regular cake tin, greased and lined with baking paper on the base and sides.
More Easy Homemade Cakes & Cupcakes
Here's a few more of my favourite cakes to share when you want something a little special:
Armenian Nutmeg Cake
Ingredients
- 150 g (1 cup) self raising flour
- 75 g (½ cup) plain flour
- 275 g (1 ¼ cups) brown sugar
- 60 g (½ cup) almond meal
- 125 g butter cold, chopped
- 80 g (¾ cup) walnuts chopped roughly
- 2 ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg or freshly grated nutmeg
- 125 g (½ cup) milk
- 125 g (½ cup) sour cream or plain yoghurt
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon bi-carbonate of soda
- icing sugar to dust (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius (fan forced). Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm round springform pan with baking paper.
- Place the self raising flour, plain flour, brown sugar and almond meal into a large bowl. Add the chopped butter and use you fingers to rub the butter through the mixture until breadcrumbs form. If using a Thermomix: Place the self raising flour, plain flour, brown sugar, almond meal and chopped butter into the Thermomix bowl. Mix for 10 seconds, Speed 8, or until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Place one-third of the mixture into the base of the prepared tin. Use the back of a spoon to firmly press the mixture down.
- Add the chopped walnuts, nutmeg, milk, sour cream, egg and bicarbonate soda to the mixture and mix well to combine. If using a Thermomix: Add the chopped walnuts, nutmeg, milk, sour cream, egg and bicarbonate soda and mix for 10 seconds, Reverse, Speed 3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat until combined.
- Pour the mixture over the base in the tin.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan before removing.
- Dust with icing sugar before serving (optional).
Notes
- If you don't have a springform pan, you can use a regular cake tin. Grease and line the base and sides with baking paper.
- Use cold butter - this helps to form a better crust on the base of this nutmeg cake.
- Use your fingertips to lightly rub the flour and butter together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Use other ingredients at room temperature (milk, sour cream and egg) for best results as cold ingredients delay the baking process.
- Substitutes - the recipe states half a cup of milk and half a cup of sour cream. However you can use more or less of each, as long as the total quantity is one cup. You can also substitute some of the sour cream or milk with natural or greek yoghurt.
- If your cake is over-browning, add a sheet of foil loosely over the top and continue cooking.
- Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin.
- Storing and freezing - Armenian nutmeg cake stores well and remains moist in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also wrap and freeze in an airtight container, either as a whole or wrapped in individual slices for up to 3 months.
OKC says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I like the taste of warm spices in baked goods. I want to try this for my Christmas baking, I wonder if it is possible to skip the base and make the entire ingredients as cake batter. What would change?
Can I add raisins, dried fruits, whole nuts like cashews? To make it more christmassy…? I would use yogurt instead of milk-cream combo, for less lactose.
Lucy says
Thank you so much for your lovely message! I’m so glad you’re planning to make this for your Christmas baking — the warm spices really are so perfect for the festive season!
I totally get the idea of turning the whole mixture into a single cake batter, but for this particular recipe I really do recommend sticking with the base + crumb structure. It’s what gives Armenian Nutmeg Cake its gorgeous contrast between that buttery, crumbly bottom and the soft, spiced cake layer on top. If you mix everything together, you’ll lose that beautiful texture and it will bake more like a simple spice cake rather than the traditional style.
If you’d love a more christmassy twist though, absolutely go ahead and add some festive mix-ins to the top cake layer! A small handful of raisins, mixed dried fruit or even chopped nuts (cashews, pecans or walnuts work especially well) will all be delicious. I’d avoid adding too much though — around ½ cup total is perfect — just so the cake still rises nicely.
Using yoghurt instead of the milk–cream combo will work too. It will give the top layer a slightly tangier flavour and a softer crumb, but still really yummy. I’d use plain Greek yoghurt and keep the quantity the same as the combined liquid.
Hope that helps — and happy Christmas baking! 🎄✨
Tim Gilroy says
My mum used to bake "Armenian Nutmeg Slice" when i was a kid and my siblings and i loved it.
I stumbled across this recipe when i was looking for mum's version. This recipe seems to be a tweaked a bit so that it isn't quite so sweet... it's a little more grown up. It was a total hit. I am enjoying the last slice with a cup of chai as i type this. Thank you. <3
Lucy says
Oh fabulous! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It's one of my faves!