Chocolate Hazelnut Cake With Praline Chocolate Crunch Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (nonfan)/375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom of 2 (20-centimeter/8-inch) cake pans (tins) with a removable base with parchment paper and grease the sides. Alternatively, grease the bottoms and sides of 2 (20-centimeter/8-inch) regular cake pans, line with parchment, and grease the parchment.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugars. In a separate bowl, add the oil, eggs and kefir, and whisk just to combine. Add to the dry mixture and use a spatula to gently fold through. Add the 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons/220 grams hot coffee and mix gently to combine. It'll look very runny at first, but will soon come together into a glossy, pourable batter.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans, about 21 ounces/600 grams per pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Set aside to cool for about 30 minutes, then slide a butter knife along the sides to help release the cake. Brush the tops lightly with the remaining 1 tablespoon/14 grams extra coffee (discard any extra).
• Invert one cake onto a board, remove the parchment, then invert it again onto a cake stand or the platter you intend to serve it on (domed side up now). Invert the other cake onto a board (don't remove the paper). Invert it again, onto a plate, so that it's paper side down. (This will help prevent it from sticking.) Set both cakes aside to cool completely.
• Make the praline: With the oven still at 200 degrees Celsius/375 degrees Fahrenheit, spread the hazelnuts onto a parchment-lined medium baking sheet (tray) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until deeply golden, shaking the pan halfway through baking. Set aside, keeping the tray and parchment paper. You'll use them again later.
• Place a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and, once quite hot, sprinkle in a third of the caster sugar to cover the base. It should immediately start to melt at the sides but not brown too quickly. Swirl the sugar in the pan a little, then add another third of the sugar, allowing it to melt a little before adding the remaining third. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the sugar is an amber caramel, stirring with a spatula just a couple times (but not much more). Add the hazelnuts and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring to coat, then quickly transfer the mixture to your parchment-lined tray and leave to cool completely.
• Once cool, roughly break apart the praline and add it to a food processor. Pulse a few times until you have very coarse crumbs, then measure out about 1/2 cup/75 grams of the mixture and transfer to a bowl. Blitz the remaining mixture in the food processor for about 5 minutes or until it turns into the consistency of a smooth nut butter, stopping to scrape the inside of the bowl as necessary. Transfer this to a separate bowl.
• Make the mascarpone cream: Add all the ingredients to a stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until you have medium peaks. Refrigerate if not assembling right away (you want it nice and cold).
• When ready to assemble, top the cake on your cake stand with half the cream mixture. Spoon over about 2 tablespoons of the smooth praline and gently swirl it through the cream with your spatula. Top with another 2 tablespoons of the praline, this time without swirling. Sprinkle with half the praline crumble. Carefully invert the other cake on top now, removing the paper. Top with the remaining cream and repeat the same process with the smooth praline and praline crumble. Serve right away, or refrigerate overnight to firm up the cream before serving. (The cake will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Steps:

• For the cake:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans. Prepare the cake mix according to package instructions. Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans and bake according to package instructions. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
• For the crunch:
• Place the toasted nuts close together in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the sugar mixture until dissolved. Bring to a boil and let cook until the sugar is light brown, about 8 minutes. Let the bubbles subside then pour the caramelized sugar over the nuts. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and let the sugar nut mixture cool until hard, about 30 minutes. When the sugar nut mixture is hard and cool, top with another piece of parchment paper and pound into small pieces, or place the sugar nut mixture on a cutting board and cut into small pieces. Set aside.
• For the filling:
• Put the mascarpone cheese, cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer whip the cream mixture to soft peaks. Fold the Crunch mixture into the whipped cream.
• For the topping:
• Place the chocolate, sugar and zest in a food processor. Process the mixture until the chocolate is finely ground.
• To assemble the cake:
• Put 1 cake on a serving plate. Top with 1-inch of the whipped cream crunch mixture. Top with the second layer of cake and continue frosting the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream crunch mixture. Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with the ground chocolate. Serve.

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:

• 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:

• Make the pastry. Cream together the butter and sugar, then add flour and almonds. Bring everything together with the egg. If the pastry is very soft, chill for 20 mins. If not, roll out to fit a deepish 23cm fluted flan tin; if the pastry breaks, press scraps of pastry into the gaps, leaving a slight overhang. Chill for 20 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Line the case with baking parchment and baking beans, then bake for 10 mins. Remove beans and cook for another 10 mins until golden.
• Meanwhile, toast the nuts in a dry pan until starting to brown. Scatter over 4 tbsp of sugar, cook until it caramelises, then tip nuts onto a baking tray lined with parchment. Leave to cool, then roughly chop. Over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, butter and alcohol together, then set aside to cool slightly. Over the same pan, beat the egg, yolks and remaining sugar until pale and fluffy. Take off the heat, then fold in the chocolate mix.
• When case is cooked, remove from oven and turn the heat down to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Scatter most of the hazelnuts over the base, then tip in the chocolate mix, pressing it down slightly. Cook the tart for 15-20 mins until the chocolate has almost set. Leave to cool, then serve scattered with the remaining nuts. Can be made up to 1 day ahead.

Steps:

• For cake:
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line bottom of 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Spoon off foam from top of butter and discard. Spoon clear yellow butter into small metal bowl, leaving water and milk solids in bottom of pan. Add vanilla to butter in bowl; set clarified butter aside.
• Sift flour and cocoa powder together 3 times into medium bowl. Whisk eggs and sugar in large metal bowl to blend. Place bowl with egg mixture in large skillet of barely simmering water; whisk constantly until egg mixture is lukewarm (105°F), about 2 minutes. Remove bowl from water. Place bowl with clarified butter in hot water in same skillet over low heat to keep warm.
• Using electric mixer, beat egg mixture until cool and tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Sift 1/3 of flour-cocoa mixture over egg mixture and gently fold in with rubber spatula. Fold in remaining flour-cocoa mixture in 2 more additions. Fold 1 cup of cake batter into warm clarified butter until incorporated. Using rubber spatula, gently fold butter-cake batter mixture into remaining cake batter.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean and top springs back slightly when gently pressed, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.)
• Run knife between pan sides and cake to loosen. Invert cake onto rack; remove parchment. Using long serrated knife, trim top of cake horizontally, forming 3/4-inch-high cake layer. Using bottom of 8-inch-diameter springform pan as guide, trim around sides of cake to form 8-inch round cake. Set cake aside.
• For hazelnut crunch:
• Line bottom of 8-inch-diameter springform pan with parchment paper. Pour enough water into large skillet to reach depth of 1 inch; bring to simmer. Remove skillet from heat. Place gianduja in medium metal bowl; set bowl in hot water in skillet. Stir until gianduja is melted and smooth. Stir in cereal and nuts. Spread crunch evenly over parchment in pan. Place cake atop crunch layer, pressing to adhere. Chill until crunch is firm, about 1 hour.
• For mousse:
• Place gianduja in metal bowl. Pour enough water into large skillet to reach depth of 1 inch; bring to simmer. Remove from heat; place bowl with gianduja in hot water in skillet. Stir until gianduja is smooth. Remove bowl from water; cool gianduja to lukewarm.
• Using electric mixer, beat cream and salt in another bowl until very soft peaks form (when bowl is tilted, cream should be fluffy but still pourable and flow to one side). Mix 3 tablespoons water into melted gianduja. Pour whipped cream over and fold into gianduja just until incorporated (mousse will be very soft).
• Brush top of chilled cake with liqueur. Spread mousse over cake in pan. Cover and chill overnight. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)
• Run knife between cake and pan sides to loosen. Soak kitchen towel in hot water; wring out water. Wrap hot wet towel around pan sides and hold 30 seconds. Carefully remove pan sides from cake; smooth mousse with knife if necessary. Place cake on pan bottom on rack set over baking sheet. Sift cocoa powder lightly over top of cake. Using stencils such as snowflakes or stars, sift powdered sugar over top of cake. Transfer to platter and serve.
• *Many supermarkets sell pre-husked hazelnuts. if you can't find them, here's how to husk whole hazelnuts: Scatter nuts on rimmed baking sheet and toast at 350°F until skins darken, 12 to 15 minutes. Wrap warm hazelnuts in kitchen towel and rub together to remove skins.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast them in the oven until they are fragrant, about 8 minutes. Transfer nuts to a clean kitchen towel, and rub nuts in towel vigorously between your hands to remove the brown skins. Lightly brush an 8-by-12-inch rimmed baking pan with the oil. Spread the peeled nuts in the pan.
• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, brushing down sides of pan with a damp pastry brush to remove any sugar crystals that may form, until mixture is amber, about 9 minutes; do not stir. (Pan may be swirled gently about halfway through to incorporate any uncooked sugar.) Pour directly over nuts to create a thin layer. Set aside to cool, at least 30 minutes.
• Place half the praline in the bowl of a food processor; process until the praline is very fine with no sharp pieces. Cut the remaining praline into small pieces for decoration.

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round. Wrap outside of pan tightly with 3 layers of heavy-duty foil. Combine chocolate and butter in medium metal bowl; set bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Whisk until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water.
• Whisk eggs, golden brown sugar, and 1/4 cup Frangelico in large bowl to blend. Add chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Stir in ground hazelnuts and 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Place in oven and tent springform pan loosely with foil. Bake until cake is set in center and top is dry to touch, about 1 1/2 hours (top of cake will remain shiny). Remove cake from roasting pan; remove foil from top and outside of pan. Cool cake in pan on rack. Chill cake until cold, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
• Using electric mixer, beat whipping cream and remaining 1/4 cup Frangelico in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Cut cake into wedges. Transfer to plates. Top with whipped cream; sprinkle with chopped toasted hazelnuts.