Hazelnut and chocolate: a match made in heaven. Ditto for moist, nutty cake with smooth, creamy ganache. An excuse to try out a shiny new bundt pan: check. A reason to buy an enormous, rich pat of butter from the local farm: check. In the midst of a rather miserable week this cake put a smile on my face and a warm fuzzy feeling in my belly. It cheered up my work colleagues until they realised I’d only brought in one slice each (although, I think I was being beyond saintly by sharing it).
I’ve alway been a fan of nut cakes (solely the dessert variety mind you); be it almond, walnut or hazelnut. They always manage to turn out moist and crumbly and usually get better from day to day. I ate the last little slice of this beast of a cake three days after baking and it was still going strong. Lucky really given the size of it! If you don’t have a bundt pan you can split it into two 21 x 12cm (2lb) loaf pans but bear in mind that the cooking time will be less so do keep an eye on them. Without the ganache this cake ought to freeze well, so you can always keep one for another day. As you can see from the photo above, the ganache turned out a little thicker than planned; I’ve adapted the recipe below so it should have a more pourable consistency for a prettier finish.
Hazelnut cake with chocolate ganache
Cake recipe from Bake or Break, ganache recipe from Smitten Kitchen
For the cake:
- 50g + 115g ground unblanched hazelnuts
- 230g butter, soft plus extra for greasing the pan
- 100g + 70g sugar
- 3 large eggs separated
- 250g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 100g dark chocolate, grated
- 250ml milk
Pre-heat oven to 175°C.
Grease a 25cm bundt tin and sprinkle in 50g of ground hazelnuts ensuring all sides are covered.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and 100g sugar for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the yolks one by one beating well after each addition.
In another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in 115g ground hazelnuts and the grated chocolate.
Fold in half of the flour mix followed by half the milk, the rest of the flour and the rest of the milk.
Beat the egg whites and 70g sugar until stiff. Stir one quarter into the batter then carefully fold in the rest of the whites.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 50-60mins.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn out and leave to cool completely.
For the ganache:
- 130g dark chocolate
- 90ml double cream
- 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
Break up the chocolate into small pieces and put into a small, heavy-bottomed pan with the cream and coffee granules. Over a low heat stir until the chocolate is mostly melted. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Pour over the cake and smooth with a spatula.
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