Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

An iconic cake from the Langhe region in Piedmont – an area known for its prized hazelnuts, this cake is as simple as it is a showstopper. The ingredients’ list itself couldn’t be shorter: just hazelnuts, sugar, eggs and butter. Here, I stir away ever so slightly from the classic version, swapping butter for dark chocolate, which gives the cake a deeper, richer, darker crumb that goes perfectly with coffee, black tea or brandy alike.

3 medium eggs, separated
150g caster sugar
250g toasted hazelnuts
2 teaspoons baking powder
60g dark chocolate, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 180°C | 350° F . Grease a 26cm spring form cake tin with butter.

In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and half the sugar until airy and pale yellow. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Grind the hazelnuts with the remaining sugar. Stir in the baking powder, then the yolks, and then the melted chocolate. Finally, add the egg whites and fold them through. 

Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking tin and smooth out the top. Bake for 35 minutes, or until just cooked through. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before running a knife along the bottom and edges and unmoulding it.