If the title of this post didn't stop you in your tracks then I don't know what will. I absolutely adored the flavour and softness of this cake and the recipe Good Food made is beyond perfect!
I made this cake for my mother's birthday - I won't tell you how old she is, but she looks wonderful for her age! She's quite a keen coffee drinker and eats nuts like there's no tomorrow and who doesn't like chocolate?!
The balance of the hazelnut to coffee to chocolate is spot on and I think this is one of the best tasting cakes I've ever made. The recipe is a bit demanding but totally worth it because you are left with the lightest, most airiest sponge.
Serves: 16
Ingredients:
Sponges (2 sponges, cut into 4)
-100g unsalted butter
100g bag chopped toasted hazelnuts
-300g light brown soft sugar
-6 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
-1 tsp fine instant coffee powder
-6 large eggs, at room temperature
-2 tbsp cornflour
-175g plain flour
Coffee Syrup
-50g light brown sugar
-1 tsp fine instant coffee powder
-1 tbsp hazelnut syrup / Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) / Kahlua / Tia Maria
Chocolate Filling
-500g mascarpone
-300g Nutella
-1 tsp fine instant coffee powder
-50g chopped toasted hazelnuts (to sprinkle over each chocolate filling layer)
Ombre Frosting
-Leftover chocolate filling
- 500g mascarpone
-1 tsp fine instant coffee powder
- 2 tsp Nutella
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
Hazelnut Spikes
-10+ whole hazelnuts (1 bag)
-10+ toothpicks
- 200g granulated sugar
- 60ml water
Method
Sponges
1) Heat the oven to 180C / 160C fan / gas 4. Generously butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Put the hazelnuts into a food processor with 2tbsp of the sugar, then pulse until finely chopped. Don't expect them to go as fine as ground almonds - over processing can make the nuts go greasy.
2) Put the butter, milk and coffee powder into a small pan and heat gently until the butter has melted, set aside.
3) Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the rest of the sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and billowy (I used a hand whisk and it took 20 minutes). In order to achieve a light sponge it is very important that the mixture has thickened, almost doubles in size and leaves a trail in the mixture that holds for a couple of seconds.
4) Mix the cornflour, plain flour and 1/2 a tsp of salt and sift onto the whisked mixture. Using a large metal spoon, fold in very carefully. Sprinkle in the ground nuts and fold these in too. Pour in the warm milk mix around the edges of the bowl and fold this in. Be mindful not to rush the folding and continue with a light lifting and cutting motion until ribbons of liquid stop appearing. Divide the batter between the tins and bake for 25 minutes until risen to the middle and a burnished gold.
5) Loosen the sides of the cakes with a palette knife then cool in the tins on a rack for 20 minutes (the cakes will level off and may go a bit wrinkly which is normal). Carefully remove from the tins and cool, paper-side down.
Syrup
1) Put the sugar and 4 tbsp water into a small pan. Bring to the boil and leave for 1 minute then take off the heat. Stir in the coffee and alcohol / hazelnut syrup.
Fillings
1) Chocolate filling / dark brown ombre frosting: Beat the mascarpone, Nutella and coffee powder together until silky and even.
2) Light brown ombre frosting: Mix together 150g mascarpone with 1 tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp coffee powder and beat until smooth. If the gradient is too slight, add a few teaspoons of Nutella to darken the frosting
3) Lightest ombre frosting: Mix together 350g mascarpone and 1 tbsp icing sugar and beat until smooth.
Assemble the cake
1) Cut the cold cakes horizontally across the middle using a long serrated knife. With a pastry brush dampen the cut surfaces all over with the syrup and ensure to use all of it.
2) Put one cake layer onto a plate of stand, cut-side up. Spoon on 3 generous dollops of the chocolate filling and spread evenly, it should be about 5mm thick. Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts over the chocolate filling. Repeat with the next two layers. When you come to the final layer, place it cut-side down so that the top of the cake is smooth. Press the cakes down slightly and then use a scraper to remove any frosting that has been pushed out.
3) Using the lightest ombre frosting finely coat the entire cake in a very thin layer of frosting. This is called a crumb-coat and makes the second stage of frosting much easier because no crumbs will come loose and the gaps will be filled. Place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
4) Once the cake has set start at the bottom with the darkest ombre frosting and using a palette knife, smooth a layer of frosting on the bottom third of the cake.
5) Using the light brown ombre frosting, smooth on the frosting around the middle section of the cake and repeat with the lightest frosting over the last third of the cake and the top.
6) Use a scraper to level and smooth the sides and top of the cake. Make sure to keep the scraper straight and level and don't dig into the cake too much. Place into the fridge to set.
7) Sprinkle pre chopped hazelnuts and whole chopped hazelnuts over the top of the cake once cooled.
Hazelnut Spikes
1) Prep the counter by cutting out strips of celotape and place a large sheet of baking parchment on the floor. Insert a toothpick into the side of each hazelnut, set aside.
2) Place the sugar and water into a small pot over a medium-high heat. Stir only to combine.
3) Continue to cook the sugar until the caramel reaches the desired colour.
4) Shock the pot in a bowl of cold water to stop it from cooking. Let the caramel sit in the pot for a minute or two so that it begins to thicken.
5) Dip the skewered hazelnut into the caramel, if a strand forms, the caramel is ready. If not, let the caramel sit for a bit longer.
TIP: if the caramel is too thick, place back on the stove to heat it up.
6) Once the Skewered hazelnut is dipped into the caramel, quickly tape the toothpick to the edge of the counter ensuring that the drips are caught by the baking parchment. Do not place them too close to one another otherwise the caramel strands will stick to one another. Repeat with all of the hazelnut skewers and leave to cool.
TIP: DO NOT store these in the fridge, they melt in humidity and should be used on the same day.
7) Cut the caramel strand to the desired length and carefully slide the end of each toothpick out of the hazelnut and place in the centre of the cake.
Credit to: Good Food and Liv For Cake
The cake will last for 2 days
