Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, a Heavenly Italian Dessert

Who doesn’t love Nutella, that chocolate hazelnut spread from heaven? Chocolate and hazelnut complement each other so perfectly, I like to think that their marriage is like that of grandma and grandpa.

Nutella is not the only product created by this perfect union. I remember when I was a kid, we took a trip to Assisi to visit my patron Saint, Santa Chiara. That night we stayed in neighboring Perugia. We woke up in the morning to the smell of Baci Perugina, chocolate hazelnut candies. The aroma was absolutely intoxicating.

It made such an imprint in my sensory memory that that smell is what I remember most about that trip. To this day, Baci Perugina are my favorite chocolates, with Ferrero Rocher, another chocolate-hazelnut confection, a close second.

Did you know that Italian hazelnuts (DOP) are actually a different variety of nut — this, in my opinion, is why everything chocolate hazelnut just tastes better in Italy.

In the US, Italian DOP hazelnuts can be very hard to find,  and, if you can find them, they are extremely expensive. Every time I go to Italy, I bring them home.

When I don’t have any Italian hazelnuts on hand, I use Trader Joe’s Oregon hazelnuts.

This is the first in my series of desserts inspired by my love of chocolate and hazelnuts.  

This is my hazelnut cake. It’s fairly simple, and, as with all of my recipes, easily adaptable to your taste. Here, I decorate it very simply with melted dark chocolate, but feel free to use Nutella or hazelnut cream if you prefer.

Before I get into the actual recipe, this is a quick guide on toasting and removing the skin from hazelnuts. When I toast hazelnuts I do a large quantity and then keep them ground, stored in a jar. Feel free to halve or double as you see fit.  

TO TOAST HAZELNUTS:

1 cup whole hazelnuts.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place hazelnuts in an ovenproof dish (I use  a pie plate). 

Roast about 15-20 minutes, until golden (and your kitchen smells amazing).

Prepare a small non-metalic bowl by lining it with a clean kitchen towel.

Place hot hazelnuts in towel and twist top so it is fully closed and nuts are fully covered (this allows  the nuts to steam). 

Leave about 20-25 minutes.

Gently rub the cloth on the nuts till most of the skins come off (if some stay on, don’t worry). 

Let cool.

Once nuts have fully cooled, grind until course in a food processor.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Recipe by Chiara Montalto Giannini

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups 2 00 flour

• 1 cup 1 sugar

• 1 envelope 1 lievito paneangeli or 2 tsp. baking powder

• 1 pinch 1 salt

• 1 cup 1 farina di noce or toasted, ground hazelnuts

• 1/2 cup 1/2 whole milk

• 2 2 eggs, room temperature

• 1/4 cup 1/4 hazelnut oil (or any neutral oil)

• 1/4 cup 1/4 vegetable oil

• Fra Angelico (to taste)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine all dry ingredients, except nuts, in your mixer by using the paddle attachment.
• Crack eggs in a small bowl and whisk gently with a fork.
• Add eggs to dry ingredients.
• Add milk.
• Add both oils and combine.
• Add in ground hazelnuts and Fra Angelico to taste.
• Bake in greased pan about 30-35 minutes, until golden.
• Decorate with melted dark chocolate, Nutella or hazelnut cream.

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