This is a
recipe that I have been tinkering with for a while now, and I am pretty happy
with how it has come out. Happy enough to share it!
Recipe
evolution is a lot faster than human evolution (I even question whether or not some
humans have evolved at all…)
I love
the creative process – it’s like science.
Had my
high school science experiments resulted in cake, I might have been been the
next Einstein.
This
isn’t Nathan Myrhvold science, however. It’s just basic recipe tinkering.
It won’t
win me a prize or an international award. (Don’t you think there should be a
Nobel Piece Prize for the best slice of cake?)
It all
started with a simple nut cake – or torta. The kind you get in a small town in
Italy, the kind someone’s nonna makes.
Ground
hazelnuts. Eggs. Sugar. The original was moist, nutty and almost perfect. It
needed something. Or, rather, I wanted it to grow up and be something better.
I added a
ganache glaze. It was well received. One friend said that it was the best thing
I had ever made. I disagreed… Like most parents for their children, I had
higher aspirations for my nutty offspring.
I added
cocoa powder to the batter and it is pretty darned good, if I do say so myself.
And, it’s gluten-free, and easily made dairy-free by skipping the ganache.
~ David
Torta di
Nocciole e Cioccolato
1 scant
cup sugar
5 large
egg yolks
7 ounces
hazelnuts, roasted, skins removed and finely ground
2
tablespoons cocoa powder
4 large
egg whites
6 ounces
chocolate – 54% cacao
6 tablespoons
cream
Preheat
oven to 350°F.
Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment.
Set aside.
Using a
handheld mixer, cream the sugar and egg yolks until very pale and thick. Add
the cocoa powder and carefully mix into the eggs. Next, add the ground nuts.The
batter will be very thick. If it is so thick that you worry you’ve done something wrong, you
haven’t!
In the
bowl of a stand mixer, or using the handheld mixer with clean beaters, beat egg
whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form.
Using a
spatula, stir in a third of the whites to loosen the thick batter. It will
still be mercilessly thick. Gently as possible, fold in the remaining whites.
Scrape into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool on a rack.
When
cool, run a thin spatula around the edge and remove cake from the pan. Set it
right side up on a platter. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the
chocolate in the cream, stirring until smooth. Pour over the top of the cake
and let cool before slicing.
Serves
8-10.
Magda
April 18, 2015 at 2:35 pmYum, this looks great David!!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 18, 2015 at 2:41 pmThanks, Magda! xo
Christina | Christina's Cucina
April 18, 2015 at 7:12 pmOh you have no idea how much I love, love, love this cake, David! I'm a hazelnut lover (do we even need to mention chocolate?) so this is something I absolutely have to make! The only problem is I will have to wait for my daughter to be away for a while since she is severely allergic to all tree nuts 🙁 She just so happens to be going to the other side of the country for uni in August, so I'm literally putting this on my calendar for when I get back! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
April 18, 2015 at 8:19 pmThanks, Christina! August isn't so far away, unless you're waiting for hazelnuts and chocolate! I assure you, it's worth the wait.
john | heneedsfood
April 18, 2015 at 9:41 pmNutty cakes are probably my favourites as they're generally much more moist than flour-based ones. And hazelnuts! One of my favourite nuts.
Ganache or no ganache, this sure is one fine cake.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 19, 2015 at 4:16 pmI agree, John… And I love this cake with and without the ganache, but the ganache is pretty nice.
Kathy
April 18, 2015 at 10:39 pmOh David, This cake looks and sounds luscious!! Love the addition of cocoa! What could be better than nuts and chocolate? Not much! I would really love to give this one a try! Have a great weekend!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 19, 2015 at 4:18 pmKathy – in one of the scientific tests, I added more cocoa and it changed the texture of the cake too much. This is really once case where less is definitely more! Thanks for your kind comment!
Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things
April 19, 2015 at 12:24 amOh my! David, I am swooning over this cake of yours! Love it! And I love your line 'Had my high school science experiments resulted in cake, I might have been been the next Einstein.' : )
Cocoa & Lavender
April 19, 2015 at 4:19 pmWell, maybe not Einstein, Liz…. but maybe the next Alton Brown! Glad you like this cake.
Anonymous
April 19, 2015 at 3:13 amThis is the best,chocolaty-dreamy good cake ever….so beautiful,elegant and with ground hazelnuts and topped with a dark chocolate ganache….pure bliss in every slice of cake…thanks for ever inspiring…Have A Good Day! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
April 19, 2015 at 4:21 pmThank you so much, Rakesh and Swikruti! Your comments always make my day so much better!
Gaelen
April 19, 2015 at 11:29 amThis looks wonderful! If you're a time-pressed slob like me, how much hazelnut flour could I use instead of grinding my own hazelnuts? You can tell me if that simply won't do… or if I use the same volume as the nuts themselves. Also, have you considered topping it with a nutella ganache? Too much?
Thanks for another amazing GF recipe. I'm about to make the second of your wonderful almond cakes soon… have the almond paste in the freezer awaiting grating etc. xo
Cocoa & Lavender
April 19, 2015 at 4:23 pmI guess I would start with a cup of ground hazelnuts, Gaelen. I am weighing ingredients more and more because I find it more accurate. I have consider a nutella ganache – never too much, as far as I am concerned. 🙂
Enjoy the almond cake! xox
Nicole - RieglPalate.com
April 19, 2015 at 1:23 pmWow, wow! This looks absolutely amazing. Adding this to my list to make. Thank you, David, for your recipe tinkering. I fully support it!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 19, 2015 at 4:24 pmI pretty much knew this recipe would catch your attention, Nicole! 🙂 I love GF nut cakes, too!
Kirsten Honeyman
April 19, 2015 at 3:14 pmThis looks delicious! I really love the measuring cups and spoons as well — lovely.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 19, 2015 at 4:25 pmThanks, Kirsten! The spoons and cups were Christmas gifts from Mark. I love them, too!
Sippity Sup
April 21, 2015 at 12:21 amDelicious tinkering. Did you know that the original tinker-er was a metal worker who specialized in kitchen utensils. I don't think I made that up, but I might have. GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
April 21, 2015 at 3:03 pmIt sounds plausible. Now, Greg, if you were the original tinker-er, what would be the first gadget you would tink?
Caitlin
April 22, 2015 at 6:07 amI'm Caitlin, Diana Peel's daughter, and this cake looks delicious! I'm going to bake it for my friend's 30th birthday party this Thursday. I'll have my mom tell you how it turns out!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 22, 2015 at 2:10 pmThanks, Caitlin! I hope you like it. It is really a nice GF option.
Anonymous
April 22, 2015 at 8:08 amI must confess I had to reread your post a couple of times as I was just a little bit dazzled by your measuring cups and spoons… love love love and now I have to go back and have another look at that magnificent cake…
Cocoa & Lavender
April 22, 2015 at 2:11 pmYou are so sweet, Karen. Yes, I love those spoons and measures. I have so many fun ones that aren't accurate – but these are quite so, so I use them often. And you are kind to call my simple cake "magnificent" after all the beautiful creations you make! xo
Nuts about food
April 22, 2015 at 10:17 amHehe, love the Nobel Piece Prize… which you could maybe win if you go on like this!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 22, 2015 at 2:13 pmI have to say, Fiona, I thought that was pretty clever myself! 🙂 I am excited to say that we have 4 or 5 Honors College students coming to Milano this summer to work with the International Traditional Knowledge Institute. If you see a gaggle of Americans that are really smart and interested in food, they may be mine!
Andrea_TheKitchenLioness
April 22, 2015 at 10:21 amDavid, a lovely "nutty cake" – which is something I always treasure! I see you are back to those cups measurements…I shall take you shopping for a wonderful metric scale, dear friend!
Liebe Grüsse,
Andrea
Cocoa & Lavender
April 22, 2015 at 2:14 pmOh, dear… I have a perfectly good scale with metric and ounces. It all depends on the recipe and how I make it. If I have time I convert to weights as well as measures… but most Americans don't have a scale and use cups. Glad you like the cake!
Valentina
April 22, 2015 at 6:58 pmIt simply doesn't get much better than chocolate and hazelnuts — heaven, it is!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 23, 2015 at 10:04 pmYep, pure heaven, Valentina. I just wish it weren't so easy to make!
Colette (Coco)
April 23, 2015 at 9:46 pmI just licked my computer monitor.
How embarrassing.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 23, 2015 at 10:05 pmColette – you only need to be embarrassed if you think the screen licked you back. 🙂
Cathleen | My Culinary Mission
April 25, 2015 at 1:30 amBeautiful. This reminds me of the one I made many years ago – however, it is not gluten free. So many friends and family are going the gluten free way. This will be good to have on file. Thanks for sharing, David!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 26, 2015 at 12:23 amTahnks, Cathleen! I really love gluten free recipes that don't require gluten free flours. They seem more "organic" in their creation. And they taste great, too. (It reminds me of when people substituted carob for chocolate. That was an awful phase!)
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen
April 26, 2015 at 9:04 amThe chocolate/cocoa duo guarantees the best chocolate flavor imo, so it's no wonder you thought so too, haha! Love this combo, I will never ever tire of hazelnut chocolate cakes David. I used to make one by Alice Medrich, and it definitely is better with a glaze. Good call!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 26, 2015 at 3:32 pmI just love nut cakes, and hazelnuts are a favorite. A good glaze can help almost any cake, Paula! I will have to look up Alice Medrich's recipe. Thanks!
termet
May 21, 2015 at 1:42 pmSuch a beautiful photos! And this tart with hazelnut and great amount of chocolate looks delicious!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 21, 2015 at 1:57 pmThanks, Termet – yes, hazelnut and chocolate are a favorite combination of mine, too.