A true delight for chocolate and hazelnut lovers, this hazelnut cake will steal your heart with its taste. Featuring chocolate cake layers filled with delicious hazelnut cream frosting, it will leave you craving more.
Hazelnut Cake is an incredibly tasty cake that will make you feel like you’re sinking your teeth into a heavenly delight. It has the perfect combination of chocolate cake, baked using flour, sugar, egg whites, walnuts, and chocolate powder. Then the hazelnut frosting is made by combining two fillings, which gives this cake a unique flavor and texture (recipe below).
Hazelnut cake is a great dessert if you want something sweet and tasty for your next dinner party or family gathering. It’s perfect for serving during the holidays and can be made in advance. Enjoy it with a cup of hot coffee for the perfect sweet treat.
What is Hazelnut Cake made of?
This cake has three cake layers baked in individual pans on two racks and then cooled on a wire rack. At half time baking, you will need to switch the racks and move the two top pans to the bottom rack, and the one from the bottom to the top rack. This will ensure they are baked evenly. The nutty and creamy filling is spread between the layers, and then the cake layers are stacked over each other. Finally, the top of the cake is covered with frosting topped with a chocolate glaze.
This cake recipe is originally from my father’s friend who used to work in a renowned cake shop in Sarajevo. The original recipe has four thin layers, but I prefer to make it with three thicker layers. It is still as delicious and authentic as I remember.
How to make Hazelnut cake
The cake preparation involves preparing cake layers by dividing the batter into three equal parts, then delicious filling for frosting the layers and outside of the cake, and finally adding a glaze over the top for a melt-in-mouth treat.
The cake layers
Take a mixing bowl and mix dry cake ingredients (ground walnuts, flour, and chocolate powder). Set aside.
Note: Walnuts must be finely ground using a manual nut grinder, not the food processor, as it releases nut oil and forms the paste. If you use a food processor, do it in small batches and add fresh breadcrumbs to prevent creating a paste.
Take another bowl and beat egg whites, gradually mixing sugar. Once the egg whites reach a stiff peak, the dry mixture and fold it gently with a few spatula strokes.
Divide batter evenly among the prepared 3 pans (10-inch/25cm), and place in the oven, placing two pans on the upper rack and one on the lower. Bake for 20 minutes. Let them cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove them from the pans.
Toast & grind the hazelnuts
Hazelnuts must be roasted, skinned, and ground in a food processor
Prepare fillings
For the first filling, you’ll need:
- 250ml water
- 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
The first filling is made by cooking 200ml water and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Then add flour mixed with the remaining 50ml water and mix well. Once the water boils add flour mixture and cook until thickens. Put the plastic wrap over the mixture and keep it aside.
For the second filling, you’ll need:
- 12 egg yolks
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 500ml water
- ¾ cup sugar
The second filling is made by cooking 1 ½ cups of water and sugar in a sauce pan until brings to boil. Then mixing egg yolks with the remaining ½ cup of water. Now add into the boiling water and cook while stirring continuously until the mixture thickens. Cover with plastic wrap and let it cool.
Mix both fillings
Now mix the egg filling with the softened butter. Add, little by little, the white filling and mix on low speed to combine well. Add grinned hazelnuts and mix well. Mixing hazelnuts in the filling adds a rich flavor and texture to your cake layers. Now you’ve got enough filling to spread between layers and to cover the cake.
Put the spring form around the first layer. Save some of the hazelnut filling to use for the top and sides of the cake. Split the rest in half and spread the first half over the cake layer. Put the second layer over and spread the remaining filling. Place the third cake layer on top, spread a little of the filling you put aside, cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator, ideally overnight.
Glaze
For the glaze put in a bowl your chocolate and oil and microwave for 1 minute. Mix until all of your chocolate is melted.
Keep it in the refrigerator
Keep the cake in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Why you’ll love Hazelnut Cake?
Hazelnut cake is one of my favorite desserts. I love how it’s got a subtle hazelnut flavor, and the frosting is silky and smooth. The cake itself is moist and delicious, and it’s easy to make. The recipe is easy to follow, resulting in a decadent treat perfect for breakfast, dessert, or even a late night.
For the cake layers:
12 egg whites
1 ¾ cup sugar
2 cups ground walnuts
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate powder
Filling 1:
250ml water
7 tablespoons all purpose flour
1-1/2 cup sugar
Filling 2:
12 egg yolks
¾ cup all-purpose flour
500ml water
¾ cup sugar
1-1/2 cup of hazelnuts (roasted)
1 lb unsalted butter (softened)
Chocolate glaze:
4 oz milk chocolate
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions:
Preparing cake layers
- Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.
- Line 3 10” baking pans with parchment paper.
- Beat the egg whites, gradually adding sugar.
- In a separate bowl, mix grinded walnuts, flour, and chocolate powder.
- Once the egg whites reach a stiff peak add the dry mixture and fold it gently with a spatula.
- Divide batter evenly among the prepared 3 pans, place in the oven, two on the upper rack and one on the lower rack.
- Baking time is 20 minutes but it is important to switch the racks after 10 minutes so all the layers are baked evenly.
- Cool in their pans for 10 to 15 minutes, and release the layers from the sides of the pan by running the tip of a knife all around the edges. If necessary cover the cakes with a wire rack and invert.
Prepare Filling 1:
- Mix 200ml water and sugar in a small saucepan. Put it on heat.
- In the remaining 50ml water, add flour and mix well.
- Once the water boils, mix in the flour mixture and cook until it thickens.
- Put the plastic wrap over the mixture and leave it to cool.
Prepare Filling 2:
- In a saucepan, mix 1-1/2 cup water and sugar and bring to a boil.
- Mix egg yolks with the remaining ½ cup water. Add into boiling water and cook while mixing until thickens.
- Cover with plastic wrap and cool.
- Once completely cooled, mix with softened butter.
- Now put together both fillings by adding little by little white filling to the other while mixing on a low speed.
- Add hazelnuts and mix to combine well.
- There is enough filling to spread between layers and to cover the cake.
Glaze:
For the glaze put together chocolate and oil, microwave for 1 minute. Mix until all chocolate is melted. You can also do this usigng double boiler, if you prefer.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
Walnuts must be finely ground using a manual nut grinder, not the food processor as it releases nut oil and forms the paste. If you use food processor, do it in small batches and add fresh breadcrumbs to prevent forming paste.
