Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
December 22, 2014
I’m (very) pregnant, and I’m feeling decadent. The little voice (right now, sort of literally…) inside of me is telling me to dig into all things rich, sweet, and sinful. It’s a desire who’s only cure is one very special ingredient: Chocolate. Lots, and lots, of chocolate. We actually made this 5 different times, playing with the amount of sugar, the selection of nuts, the quantity of butter, the number of eggs – every version had it’s own chocolatey charm, but this one takes the cake. So smooth and dense it’s closer in texture to a truffle than a trifle, and served up with cocoa whipped cream, this is one for the true chocoholics out there. A guaranteed hit for your holiday table, or any other table, counter, plate-in-your-lap, straight-from-the-tupperware…well, you get it. xx, A Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and cocoa powder the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round springform cake pan. Place chocolate in a glass or pyrex bowl and melt over a pot of simmering water – the bowl should be sized to nest with the pot. Once melted, add the butter to the bowl with the chocolate and stir until entire mixture is melted. Remove from the heat, add the ground hazelnuts, and stir to blend. Set aside to cool, roughly 20 minutes. Separate 5 of the eggs so that egg yolks are in one large bowl and egg whites in are another bowl, being careful not to let them blend. Set bowl of egg yolks aside, then whip egg whites in an electric mixer, adding the salt and beating until they form stiff peaks, just a few minutes. Set aside. Add the whole egg to the bowl of 5 yolks. Pour in 1 cup of sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla, then whisk until blended. Pour in the cooled chocolate/hazelnut mixture. Finally, fold in the beaten egg whites and gently stir to combine. Spoon the batter into the cocoa-dusted pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and set aside to cool, 10-15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the cake, then undo the springform sides to release cake. Place a plate over the top of the cake, flip and remove bottom of pan to set your cake free! Dust with additional cocoa powder, or slather with the cocoa whipped cream. Either way, it’s a delicious treat! Place a metallic mixing bowl in the Freezer for ten minutes, then pour in 1 pt. heavy cream, 6 tbls. powdered sugar, 5 tbls. cocoa, and 1 tsp. vanilla and whip with an electric mixer until a thick whipped cream has formed.
Ingredients for Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake:
1 hr. 30 min.6 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate ( we used 4 oz. 65% dark, 2 oz. 100% dark because that’s what our pantry yielded, but you can adjust to your taste!)
6 tbls. Unsalted Butter
2/3 cup finely ground Hazelnuts
6 whole Eggs, separated
1 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder, plus more for pan
pinch of Flaked Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Ingredients for Cocoa Whipped Cream:
1 pt. Heavy Cream
6 tbls. Powdered Sugar
5 tbls. Cocoa Powder
1 tsp. Vanilla
Directions for Cake:
Directions for Cocoa Whipped Cream:
Total Cooking Time:
Serves: 8
Leave a Reply