This cake is a chocolate lover's dream - a rich, double-layer chocolate cake with a creamy, whipped ganache and a chocolate glaze. The cake is dressed with hazelnuts that have been toasted, candied, coated in tempered chocolate and rolled in Dutch-process cocoa powder, and with fancy bittersweet chocolate swirls.
Our daughter turned 7 last week. 7!!! Being the daughter of foodies, why wouldn't she request a Belgian chocolate cake for her birthday? My husband heard the request and got to work! As he said, he couldn't let her down.
He chose a rich chocolate-hazelnut cake with so many elements he was in the kitchen for 4 hours on Saturday. But this cake - SO worth it.
Instead of making a single layer cake, he turned this recipe into two layers of rich chocolate cake. He layered the cakes with whipped, creamy chocolate ganache in between and on top. Next, he drizzled a chocolate glaze on all of the cake.
He could have stopped there, but this cake is seriously over the top in so many ways - layers, taste, elements, and beauty. In addition to the whipped chocolate ganache and the chocolate glaze, this cake has 2 more toppings - chocolate swirls and chocolate-covered praline hazelnuts.
The swirls started with tempered chocolate that he chilled in a thin layer and then scraped to make chocolate swirls.
The hazelnuts start by toasting hazelnuts that are then candied in a caramelized sugar. Once cool, they are coated in tempered bittersweet chocolate and chilled until hardened. The final step is rolling them in Dutch-process cocoa powder.
Drooling yet?
Once we sang happy birthday and cut the cake, you didn't hear anything out of any of us for about 10 minutes, except "Mmmmm...." and "wow...." And our 7-year-old was very, very happy :)
Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake
Adapted from: Martha Stewart
Tip: Read the entire recipe before starting since several elements can be done together. Such as the hazelnuts for the cake and the hazelnuts for the topping can be toasted together and then separated. The ganache and glaze can be prepared together and then separated to whip some and to keep some as the glaze.
The Cake Ingredients and Directions
- 4 oz hazelnuts
- 13 1/3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened (1 2/3 sticks)
- 2/3 c Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 6 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 2/3 c all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 2/3 c boiling water
- 1 3/4 c packed, dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 c buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Equipment: 2 9-inch cake pans; food processor; hand or stand mixer.
Directions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and rub to loosen skins. Transfer them to a food processor and grind with the granulated sugar until fine, but not pasty. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Butter your cake pans and then dust with cocoa powder, shaking out any excess.
- In a heat-proof bowl, mix the cocoa powder and boiling water until smooth. Once smooth and cooled, stir in the buttermilk and vanilla.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on high until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended.
- Switch mixer to low and add in half of the dry ingredients (the ground hazelnuts/sugar, flour mixture). Once blended, add in the cocoa mixture. Then add in the rest of the dry mixture, mixing until just incorporated.
- Scrape batter into your prepared pans so they are both even; smooth on top. Bake 50 min - 1 hr until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes; remove from a pan until completely cooled.
- Directions for frosting and decorating the cakes can be found after the rest of the instructions below.
The Chocolate Glaze and Whipped Ganache Ingredients and Directions
- 1/1/2 lb bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
- 3 3/4 cups heavy cream
Chop the chocolate with a serrated knife and place it into a heat-proof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil over high heat. Pour over the chocolate and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to gently loosen the chocolate, and stir until smooth. Let sit at room temp for 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
To make the whipped ganache: take 2/3 of the prepared glaze and transfer to a bowl. Place that bowl over a larger bowl of ice. Whip the chocolate with a balloon whisk until lighter in color and spreadable, removing the bowl from the ice bath and returning it as needed.
The Chocolate Swirl and Candied Hazelnuts Ingredients and Directions
- 2 cups hazelnuts
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 lb bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped
- 1/4 c Dutch-process cocoa
- Equipment: baking sheet, heavy skillet, parchment paper, stainless bowl, saucepan, a bench scraper, a sifter
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and rub to loosen skins.
- Place sugar and water in a medium heavy skillet. Stir with a fork over medium-high heat until dissolved. Let boil without stirring for 3 minutes.
- Add nuts to the pan. stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar mixture coats the nuts. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; let cool.
- Once the nuts are cool, place half of the chocolate in a stainless bowl, and place the bowl over a pan with 1 inch of simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted and hot. Add the rest of the chocolate, remove the pan from the water, and let stand 5 minutes and then stir until smooth.
- Pour half of the chocolate onto an inverted baking sheet and spread with the scraper until smooth and about 1/8 inch thick. Let stand until tacky. Hold your scraper at a 45-degree angle and scrape the chocolate off the surface to make the curls. Store curls at room temp in a parchment-lined airtight container.
- Add candied nuts to the remaining chocolate in the bowl, stirring until coated. Spread nuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let stand until set.
- Sift cocoa powder over the chocolate nuts and toss to coat. Store in a resealable plastic bag in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Finishing the Cake
- Place one layer of the cake on your serving plate. Spread some of the whipped ganache on top of the cake. Place the second layer of the cake on top of the ganache. Frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped ganache.
- Pour the chocolate glaze onto the center of the cake, letting it drip over the edges.
- Let the cake stand at room temperature until the glaze is set.
- Decorate with the swirls and nuts.
- Store in the fridge until 30 minutes before serving.