Scandinavian Recipe: #9 Norwegian Hazelnut Cake (Hasselnøtt Kake)

 

 I am coming up on the final thematic dessert that I will need for thanksgiving 2.7. I have finally found 1 recipe for each of the 4 main countries. If I am feeling adventurous I can look for a Finnish dessert, but it would have to be incredible. I'm very happy with the 5 themed desserts I've found and will start focusing on finding the on-theme side dishes. Enjoy the final dessert.  
 Prep Time: 30 minutes

 

Cook Time: 35 - 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

 

Yield: 12 servings

 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 eggs 
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

The base after it's pulled from the pan.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of one 9 or 10 inch spring-form pan.
2. Reserve 8 whole nuts for garnish. Pulse the remaining nuts in a food processor until ground, and reserve 1 tablespoon of ground nuts for garnish.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, cool.
4. In a large bowl beat eggs, sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until thick and lemon colored (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add flour, baking powder, salt, and ground nuts, mix well. Continue to beat mixture while slowly adding the cooled melted butter or margarine until blended (mixture will be thick). Spread batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes then remove sides of pan. Remove pan bottom and invert onto a serving plate. Cover with a cloth towel and cool for another 30 minutes before glazing.
6. To Make Glaze: In a medium saucepan bring whipping cream just to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the semi-sweet chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Spread glaze over top of cooled cake, allowing it to run down the sides. Sprinkle reserved ground nuts around top edge and arrange whole nuts over the middle in a pleasing pattern. .

     Overall, this was a really simple recipe. I was a little hesitant about using a spring form pan. I've had mixed experiences with them in the past when I was making anything other than a cheesecake. Thankfully, I was fortunate. I had no issues with the pan and as you can see from the cake base picture I had no problem with removing the cake from the pan. The hazelnut but for the cake ended up fairly moist, and had a nice texture. Probably the best part of this cake was the glaze. First, I really enjoyed the glaze on this cake. It not only gives the cake a fancy coating, it happens to be one of my favorite baking techniques, ganache. I don't have too many recipes in my repertoire that use chocolate ganache, but after making this recipe I may have to change this oversight.  (My favorite dessert ever used to be offered at the gourmet restaurant Olive Garden. It was a cappuccino truffle layer in-between 2 layers of chocolate cake that was coated in chocolate ganache and bittersweet chocolate shavings.) The extra crunch added by the ground hazelnuts on the top of the glaze was a great final addition. 3 very different textures and 2 enjoyable flavors. I will be adding this to the final TH2 menu for this year. I only have to decide if I should make 1 or 2 of these.

The finished cake.