Chocolate Cake With Hazelnut Paste Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare the springform pan by coating it in a thin layer with 2 tablespoons of the softened butter. Add the cocoa powder to the pan and tap the sides to coat the bottom and sides evenly. Discard any excess cocoa powder. Put the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven on the center rack until just fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer immediately to a kitchen towel to stop them from cooking. Use the towel to rub off the skins. Set aside to cool. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Fill a 1- to 2-quart pot with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a bare simmer over medium heat. Place the dark chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl and set it over the pot and simmering water (this is a bain-marie). The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Let the chocolate melt, and then stir gently. Remove from the heat when melted.
• Chop the hazelnuts into small pieces using a chef's knife or a food processor. Make sure you don't turn them into powder. Whip the egg whites with an electric mixer with the salt until they are almost at stiff peaks. Try not to over-whip. Mix together the remaining 5 tablespoons butter with the chocolate hazelnut spread in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. Stir in the espresso. Add the yolks and stir briskly to combine. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts and melted chocolate. Add one-fourth of the whipped egg whites to the chocolate hazelnut mixture and stir to lighten the batter. Then gently fold the rest of the egg whites into the batter in 3 additions. Don't over-fold. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
• Bake on the center rack of the oven until the sides of the cake start releasing from edges of the pan, 40 minutes. This cake is almost a hazelnut fudge, so no need to poke with a toothpick to check if the inside is ready or not. The cake will come out of the oven nice and fluffy and souffled, but it will deflate to half the size during its cool-off period. Serve garnished with some powdered sugar and whipped or cream or gelato, if using.

Steps:

• 1 Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray twelve 3-inch cake molds or one 9-inch springform pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• 2 Fill the bottom of a double boiler one-third full with water and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Place a medium stainless-steel bowl over the water and melt the chocolates together, stirring constantly. Once melted, set aside to cool.
• 3 In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts with the confectioners' sugar and cocoa to form a fine, sand-like mixture.
• 4 In an electric mixer, beat the butter and 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar until very light and fluffy. Beat in the hazelnut paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Beat in the espresso, Frangelico, and vanilla extract, followed by the melted chocolate. Fold in the nut mixture.
• 5 In a separate mixing bowl, use the whip attachment to beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the remaining 5 tablespoons of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter. Place the prepared molds on a greased baking sheet and divide the batter evenly among them.
• 6 Bake the cakes just until they puff and crack slightly, about 14 minutes for the cake molds (45 to 50 minutes if using the springform pan). Remove from the oven and cool in the molds on a wire rack. When the cakes are almost completely cool, gently remove the molds, then chill in the refrigerator until firm. The cakes will last for up to 1 week, refrigerated in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Combine both chocolates and melt them over a double boiler. Whisk the yolks and 1/2 of the sugar in a mixer equipped with a whisk, set aside at room temperature. In a separate bowl, whisk the whipping cream to the soft peak stage and set aside, refrigerated. Combine the 3 egg whites with the remaining sugar and whip to a soft peak stage. Pour the melted chocolate into the yolk and sugar mixture and whip at high speed until the mixture begins to pale and increase in volume. Fold in the whipped egg whites and then the whipped cream until smooth and homogenous. Pour into individual 3-inch diameter plastic round bottom (about 1/2 cup capacity) molds and freeze.
• Combine and melt the Gandujia and the hazelnut paste over a double boiler until smooth. Set aside at room temperature. Add the royaltine chips and the peanut oil and fold into the chocolate mixture until smooth. While the mixture is still warm, spread it on a sheetpan in a 1/2-inch layer, evening the surface with the aid of an offset spatula. Refrigerate until solid and then cut into 3-inch circles and refrigerate. These circles will serve as the base for the mousse cakes.
• Combine both of the ingredients over a double boiler and melt until smooth. Allow to cool to a warm stage and fill a container of an electric spray gun with the mixture. The spray gun should be new or has never been used for any purpose other than food.
• To assemble cakes: Remove the crunchy 3-inch discs from the refrigerator and place on plates. Remove mousse molds and unmold on top of the disc. These should be kept frozen until ready to spray with the chocolate mist. Remove mousse cakes from the freezer and spray the chocolate domes liberally to create a velour type finish, while still frozen. Refrigerate until set. Serve the mousse cakes with chocolate sauce and chocolate decorations of your choice.

Steps:

• Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until they are fragrant and golden, then let cool.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and butter. Stir in vanilla extract.
• Blend cooled nuts in a food processor until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes, drizzling in the nut or vegetable oil. With the machine running, add the chocolate mixture, the sweetened condensed milk, and the salt. Transfer to a container and refrigerate.