Chocolate Hazelnut Christmas Cake 2009 Food

THE BEST CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Bake two chocolate sponge cakes. Once cooled, slice each cake into two even pieces for a total of 4 layers.
• Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350°F.
• Whip the dulce de leche, cream cheese, butter, and Nutella together until smooth.
• Cover a plate with foil. Place the first cake layer on the plate and apply a layer of frosting on top of it.
• Sprinkle on some chopped hazelnuts on top of the cream. Repeat the process with the remaining cake layers, leaving the top layer unfrosted.
• Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining cake cream. Pop the cake in the refrigerator to set.
• Bring the heavy whipping cream to a boil. Pour it over the chocolate chips in a medium bowl and let it sit for a few minutes. Stir the mixture until smooth and creamy and let it cool to room temperature.
• Using a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the tip cut off, pipe the chocolate along the edge of the cake, allowing the chocolate to drizzle down the sides. Pipe some of the chocolate in the center of the cake and spread it evenly with a spatula.
• Scatter some hazelnuts on the outer edges of the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 2-3 hours. Slice and enjoy!

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Put the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast them in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes, giving the pan a shake halfway through, until they are golden brown. Watch them carefully so that they don't burn. Remove and leave them to cool for a few minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4.Butter a 23cm/9in springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
• Place 200g/7oz of the hazelnuts in a food processor and blend them until they are fairly finely ground. If you blend the nuts to the consistency of fine breadcrumbs, they should work a treat, but leave a few coarser pieces to add texture. Set the remaining 50g/2oz hazelnuts aside.
• Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set it above a pan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally and as soon as nearly all the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the pan and continue to let the chocolate melt in the residual heat.
• Stir in the ground hazelnuts and leave the mixture to cool for 5 minutes.
• Beat the egg yolks and sugar together with an electric hand-whisk for at least 5 minutes until pale and creamy, then stir into the chocolate mixture until thoroughly combined. Wash and dry the beaters well.
• In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form - they are ready when you can turn the bowl upside down without the eggs sliding out. Do not over whisk.
• Working quickly, stir the hazelnut liqueur, amaretto or orange juice, into the chocolate mixture to soften. Add a couple of tablespoonfuls of the whisked egg whites and stir until thoroughly combined, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is well risen and firm.
• Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Undo the springclip and invert the cake on to a serving plate, then peel off the lining paper and leave it to cool completely.
• When the cake is cold, spread it with the chocolate and hazelnut spread and sprinkle with the hazelnuts that you set aside - these can be whole or chopped, whatever you prefer.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CHRISTMAS CAKE, 2009

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Clarify butter. Mix clarified butter and vanilla; set aside. Sift flour and cocoa 3 times into medium bowl. Whisk eggs and sugar in large metal bowl to blend. In double boiler wish egg mixture to lukewarm (105°F). Using electric mixer, beat egg mixture until cool and tripled in vol. Sift 1/3 of flour-cocoa mixture over egg mixture and gently fold in with rubber spatula. Fold in remaining flour-cocoa mixture in 2 more additions. Fold 1 cup of cake batter into warm clarified butter until incorporated. Using rubber spatula, gently fold butter-cake batter mixture into remaining cake batter. Bake until tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool. Invert cake onto rack. Trim forming 3/4-inch-high cake layer 8-inch diam. Hazelnut crunch: Line bottom of 8-inch-diameter springform pan with parchment paper. Using db at 115 F: Place gianduja in bowl, stir until gianduja is melted and smooth (stay below 115). Add the softened butter, slowly stirring with a rubber spatula until butter is melted. The glaze should be at 80-85 F. Stir in hazelnuts. Spread hazelnut chocolate butter glaze evenly over parchment in pan. Place cake atop crunch layer, pressing to adhere. Chill about 1 hour. Mousse: Melt gianduja in double boiler. Stir until gianduja is smooth. Remove bowl from water; cool gianduja to lukewarm (80-85 degrees F). Using electric mixer, beat cream and salt in another bowl until very soft peaks form. Pour whipped cream over and fold into gianduja just until incorporated (mousse will be very soft). Brush top of chilled cake with liqueur. Spread mousse over cake in pan. Cover and chill overnight. Run knife between cake and pan sides to loosen. Carefully remove pan sides from cake; smooth mousse with knife if necessary. Place cake on pan bottom on rack set over baking sheet. Sift cocoa powder lightly over top of cake. Stencil snow flake. Serve.

HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare the springform pan by coating it in a thin layer with 2 tablespoons of the softened butter. Add the cocoa powder to the pan and tap the sides to coat the bottom and sides evenly. Discard any excess cocoa powder. Put the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven on the center rack until just fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer immediately to a kitchen towel to stop them from cooking. Use the towel to rub off the skins. Set aside to cool. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Fill a 1- to 2-quart pot with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a bare simmer over medium heat. Place the dark chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl and set it over the pot and simmering water (this is a bain-marie). The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Let the chocolate melt, and then stir gently. Remove from the heat when melted.
• Chop the hazelnuts into small pieces using a chef's knife or a food processor. Make sure you don't turn them into powder. Whip the egg whites with an electric mixer with the salt until they are almost at stiff peaks. Try not to over-whip. Mix together the remaining 5 tablespoons butter with the chocolate hazelnut spread in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. Stir in the espresso. Add the yolks and stir briskly to combine. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts and melted chocolate. Add one-fourth of the whipped egg whites to the chocolate hazelnut mixture and stir to lighten the batter. Then gently fold the rest of the egg whites into the batter in 3 additions. Don't over-fold. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
• Bake on the center rack of the oven until the sides of the cake start releasing from edges of the pan, 40 minutes. This cake is almost a hazelnut fudge, so no need to poke with a toothpick to check if the inside is ready or not. The cake will come out of the oven nice and fluffy and souffled, but it will deflate to half the size during its cool-off period. Serve garnished with some powdered sugar and whipped or cream or gelato, if using.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine first 6 ingredients in mixing bowland beat together with electric mixer.
• Combine remaining ingredients excepts the hazelnuts in another bowl.
• Sprinkle hazelnuts into the wet mixture a bit at a time and beat in with the mixer until smooth.
• Pour in half of the batter in a greased 9 inch cake pan,
• Sprinkle with some hazelnut.
• Pour in the remaining batter and top with the remaning hazelnuts.
• In the preheated oven, bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until tests run clean.
• To test, dip a knife into the cake .
• If it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
• Let cool.
• Sprinkle top with some powdered sugar and cut into wedges.