I know it's time to get going on those New Year resolutions but I've decided to allow myself a momentary lapse of judgment on this rainy Sunday Morning. After all a bit of Sunday baking is good for the soul!
And I love this cake for the virtue of the simple fact that it is completely adaptable and switches faces very quickly. And successfully.
What ever do I mean?
It goes from being a cake to a fudgy torte with one minor switch - if you roughly grind the hazelnuts into small pieces, it takes the face of a rich custardy torte.
If you find grind the hazelnuts like I have here you end up with a more cake like consistency. We baked both for my Saturday class over the weekend and everyone picked their fave rendition.
Bear in mind though that hazelnuts especially raw ones are a bitch to come by. So once again it's amazon.com to the rescue. However here in the U.S, Trader Joes sells bags of roasted unsalted hazelnuts with filberts more on than off.
Never mind that because this cake is so completely forgiving that it all comes together just fine. One word of caution, please don't flip out at the sight of the oozy liquidy batter and shovel a whole bunch of flour to the recipe.
It all comes together beautifully. I promise!
And once again, don't go buying cheap ingredients - splurge on the Vanilla bean paste and good high quality chocolate and how you shall be rewarded my precious!
As you can see, I'm ready for the Hobbit movie...he..he
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Recipe for
Italian Hazelnut Cake
Adapted from a recipe by Nika Hazelton
Shopping list
Serves 4-6/Make 1 qty 9" cake
1½ cups hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off
½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup + 3 tbs powdered or confectioners sugar
6 tbs Unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 Navel orange
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup or 4 oz good quality semisweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli chips)
Also required is non-stick kitchen spray, a 9" spring foam pan, parchment paper and an electric stand mixer. if you don't have one use an electric hand immersion blender
Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
Hazelnuts: In a non-stick pan, on medium heat, saute for 5-7 minutes until the hazelnuts release their oils and then watch very closely, stirring continuously until the hazelnuts turn light golden brown and emit a toasty scent.
Immediately remove to a kitchen paper lined bowl. Process the hazelnuts in a food processor or mini-chopper into hazelnut meal. It is ok to have odd sized pieces in the mix.
Dry ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Sift the flour through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl, holding the sieve at least 6" above the rim of the bowl below.
Eggs: Crack the eggs into a bowl, discarding the shells. Whisk with a fork.
Chocolate: Roughly chop the chocolate (even if using chips) before using.
Orange: Zest orange once all the ingredients are ready. Cover so the scent does not diffuse into the atmosphere
Measure and cut the parchment paper to line the base of the pan. Spray the spring foam pan with non-stick baking spray and 'glue' the parchment circle onto the base. Spray the sides of the pan as well and place the pan on a baking sheet.
Method:
In the electric mixer, cream the sugar and butter together until light, smooth and fluffy - scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
Incorporate the eggs a little at a time, olive oil and orange zest in several additions, blending each in at slow speed, scraping the bowl.
Then turn the speed on high for a couple of minutes so the mixture lightens.
Once again reduce to slow speed and with the motor still running, add the dry ingredients in 2 batches. Add the milk in between each addition to moisten the mixture. Beat the batter to combine for a few seconds.
Fold in the chopped nuts and chocolate and blend in well.
Empty the batter into the cake pan with a rubber spatula and smooth the top of the cake.
Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
The top should be lightly browned and just spring back to a light touch. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes or so.
Remove the side ring of the spring form and let the cake cool completely. Cut in wedges and serve, dusted with powdered sugar and fresh whipped cream if desired.
Storing tips: Cover with cake dome or plastic wrap and keep for 2-3 days on the counter top. Well wrap in plastic cling wrap and keep for upto a week in the refrigerator. Allow to reach room temperature for several hours before serving.
Excellent with a cuppa!
Enjoy!
