Sephardic Walnut Cake with Honey-Lemon Syrup

These moist diamonds of ground walnut cake are the color of burnished mahogany and drenched with a fragrant honey-lemon syrup. The recipe is based on one from Salonika, Greece; similar versions are made in Turkey.

I like to combine the walnuts and honey with melted butter, rather than with the oil used in many traditional Middle Eastern recipes. There is also a version made with matzo meal for Passover, when no flour is consumed. The recipe can be halved and baked in an 8-inch squar