Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

• Refrigerated

  • 3 Eggs

• Condiments

  • 3/4 cup Nutella

• Baking & Spices

  • 2 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • 1/4 cup Cocoa powder
  • 3 cups Confectioners' sugar
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 1/2 cups Sugar
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 1 cup Hazelnuts, Ground

• Dairy

  • 2/3 cup Butter
  • 6 tbsp Butter, unsalted
  • 1 1/2 cup Buttermilk
  • 3 tbsp Heavy cream

Found on bunsenburnerbakery.com

Description

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup ground hazelnuts (whole hazelnuts can be ground in a food processor or crushed in a ziploc bag with a heavy pan)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup Nutella
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 °F.  Line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and lightly grease. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract. With the mixer running, stir in half the flour, followed by half of the buttermilk.  Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the rest of the buttermilk.  Beat the mixture until dry ingredients are just incorporated and no pockets of flour remain.  Add in 1 cup of ground hazelnuts, stirring by hand until mixed into the batter. Divide cake batter evenly between pans.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a tester comes out with a moist crumb.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. While cake cools, prepare the frosting.  Beat the Nutella, butter, and salt together in a mixer, until fully combined and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Slowly add in confectioners sugar while mixer is running.  The mixture will appear very dry and crumbly.  Add in the heavy cream and beat on high speed until the frosting is light and smooth. To assemble the cake, level the cakes if necessary.  Cover the bottom layer with a heap of frosting, spreading to the edge.  Top with the second cake layer, followed by another heap of frosting.  Use the remaining frosting to cover the sides of the cake.  For a smooth finish, dip an offset spatula or knife in hot water and gently spread over the frosting.  Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour, until the frosting is set. While the cake chills, make the ganache.   Add the heavy cream to a small, microwaveable bowl, and microwave 2-3 minutes, until steaming.  Add the chopped chocolate to the bowl and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate.  Whisk the heavy cream and melted chocolate together until smooth.  Set aside to cool until room temperature, whisking occasionally. Pour the chocolate ganache into the center of the cake.  Push the ganache to the outside of the cake using a spatula, allowing the ganache to run down the sides of the cake.  Decorate with whole or chopped hazelnuts, and/or Ferraro Rocher hazelnut chocolates.