A soft and nutty hazelnut cake smothered in rich, dark chocolate ganache.
In my opinion, chocolate is pretty much always a good idea, but especially when paired with hazelnut! This is why this cake just works: a delicate cake loaded with lots of real hazelnuts, covered in a super smooth and rich chocolate ganache. Nutella lovers rejoice, this is basically one large chocolate hazelnut dream!
One 8” 3-layer cake (Serves 12-15)
Ingredients:
Cake:
1 ½ cups whole roasted hazelnuts
3 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Cup organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup aquafaba
2 Cups Califia Hazelnut creamer
½ cup unsweetened non dairy milk
½ cup earth balance butter, melted
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Ganache Frosting:
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
10 ounces dark chocolate chips or chunks
13.5 ounces coconut milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
Directions:
Cake
Preheat oven to 350 convect and oil and flour 3 8” cake pans
Place the hazelnuts in a food processor and process until the hazelnuts resemble a coarse meal.
In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients, including the ground hazelnuts.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the wet ingredients.
With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry mixture and mix until entirely incorporated.
Evenly divide the batter between the 3 cake pans and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Ganache Frosting
For the ganache, place the chocolate in a heat resistant bowl.
Place the coconut milk, salt, and maple syrup in a small saucepan and heat just until it starts to boil, stirring occasionally.
Pour the hot coconut milk mixture over the chocolate (ensuring all chocolate is covered) and let sit for 5 minutes. Then stir until smooth and glossy.
Let the ganache cool to room temperature before assembling the cake.
Assembly
Spread ganache between each layer and apply a thin layer over the top and outside to form a crumb coat. Place the cake in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up the crumb coat. Then remove the cake from the refrigerator and pour the rest of the ganache over the top of the cake so that it flows over the sides. Use an offset spatula or bench scraper to even out and smooth the ganache. When finished, Place the cake in the refrigerator. Feel free to make this up to a day ahead, just remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
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