The hazelnut homemade cake recipe has a delish dessert recipe with a rich, nutty flavour, and a soft texture. The nuttiness of the hazelnuts combines with the sweetness of the cake and creates a flavour that’s exciting with every bite. If you’re eating it for breakfast, you can have a slice in the morning with a coffee and a fruit. If you're serving it as an after-dinner dessert, you can add a dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream or a drizzle of chocolate sauce or ganache, all of which will make the cake more indulgent and decadent. On every occasion and as any type of meal, the hazelnut cake will not disappoint. So follow this recipe and learn how to make it yourself, so you have a whole new dish that you can enjoy however you like best.
Ingredients:
- 84 gm unsalted butter, softened
- 30 ml olive oil
- 200 gm granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 100 gm roasted hazelnuts, finely ground
- 180 gm all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 120 ml whole milk
For the frosting:
- 140 gm unsalted butter, softened
- 160 gm icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 60 gm chocolate spread of your choice
- 85 gm extra dark 85% chocolate, melted and cooled
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon whipping cream
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 177°C.
- Lightly butter two cake pans and dust with flour. Add parchment paper to the base. Set aside.
- First, roast the hazelnuts. For this, place raw hazelnuts on a baking sheet, making sure none of them overlap. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Then remove from oven and let it sit and cool. Once cooled, rub the hazelnuts between your palms or with a towel to remove the skins.
OR
Toast them in a pan over medium heat, shaking them around frequently so that they don't burn and can toast evenly.
- Place the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse until they turn into a finely ground powder.
- In a bowl, add the butter and beat with a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until light and smooth. Then add the sugar and beat until it's fully dissolved. Next, add the oil and vanilla and beat until pale. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is very pale and fluffy. Now drop in the ground hazelnuts and fold them in. Set aside.
- In another bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder cinnamon and salt. Whisk well until combined.
- Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat. Next, add the milk and beat until it becomes a smooth mixture. Then add in the remaining flour and beat until just combined.
- Once the batter is ready, divide it evenly between the two pans. Bake for about 25 minutes. The exact time will depend on the machine you're using. You’ll know it's done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- While the cakes cool, make the frosting. In a bowl, add the butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate sauce. Beat until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Remove one cake from the pan, place it on the serving plate or cake stand, top with a thick layer of frosting, then place the second cake on top. Add frosting on top and along the sides, spreading evenly.
- Top with ground hazelnuts and other bite-sized chocolates if you prefer.
- Serve warm.
Notes, tips and tricks:
- For the batter, it's best to use room-temperature butter. If you use cold butter, it won't beat evenly and the batter will be lumpy. If you heat it, the batter will be too runny. So let it sit out at room temperature for an hour and then use it. This will require some planning in terms of making the cake.
- This recipe calls for unsalted butter. If you don't have that, you can use salted butter too, but then skip the salt pinch. But it's better to use unsalted butter and add the salt pinch because the salt brings out the other flavors strongly.