Box of Spice

Indian Cooking in Holland

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BOXOFSPICE turns one + loss of memory!

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Hazelnut Cake I Boxofspice

I used to have my boss’s entire phone book in my head. Back when I was a graphic designer + personal assistant + office administrator. I used to be able to memorise entire course books fitted with all the comma’s and periods in all the right places. That was way back when I was in high school.

Today, is a completely different story though and I am bummed about it just as much as I laugh about it. The last couple of months I’ve left my bag hanging out on my bike. With my wallet. My phone. Everything! For hours and hours. I always come back to it intact. Nothing ever missing. Either I live in an extremely safe city or I have the best guardian angel. I like to believe the former… That said, it is also a terrifying feeling when you lose that kind of control. I am told its something that happens in your 40’s. I don’t even feel 40. I think I stopped growing mentally after 18! I’m like a big kid losing her memory. Hehe.

I also nearly forgot that my blog turned the big one! “Nearly” forgot. All hope is not lost! I had to make a chocolate something to celebrate. I saw two different hazelnut cake recipes in quick succession and since I believe in signs, this one seemed clear enough to me. That, and the fact that I had very little time to get a post in before the month turned to October. 🙂

What an amazing cake. With a gooey middle and caramelised hazelnuts. As long as I remember how to make this cake, I don’t much care if I forget everything else!

Hazelnut Cake I Boxofspice Hazelnut Cake I Boxofspice Hazelnut Cake I Boxofspice Hazelnut Cake I Boxofspice

 

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Caramelised Hazelnuts
 
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Adapted from allerhande + here.
Author:
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
  • For the Cake
  • 100 grams almond flour
  • 400 grams dark chocolate (I used 69%), broken into chunks
  • 200 grams butter
  • 50 grams hazelnuts
  • 8 eggs, separated
  • 150 grams brown sugar
  • 100 grams regular sugar (for the caramelised hazelnuts)

  • For the Mousse Ganache
  • 200 ml cream
  • 200 grams dark chocolate
Instructions
  1. To prepare the cake, preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F. Butter and flour a 9 inch springform.
  2. Heat the butter in a pan till completely melted. Take off the fire and add the chocolate. Stir to melt the chocolate. Set aside.
  3. Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven for around 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Let the oven stay on.
  4. Separate the eggs. Whip the yellows with the brown sugar till its light and fluffy. Around 8-10 minutes. Whip the egg whites till they are shiny and form peaks. Takes around 4-5 minutes.
  5. Add the almond flour to butter + chocolate mix and fold in with the yellow of the eggs and brown sugar mixture. Gently fold in the egg whites.
  6. Pour batter into the springform and place in the oven for 30-35 minutes. The center will be gooey. That's ok!
  7. Cool for at least an hour.
  8. For the caramelised hazelnuts, in a pan, heat the plain sugar till melted. Add the hazelnuts and stir for around 2-3 minutes. Turn over on a sheet of baking paper and let cool.
  9. For the mousse chocolate ganache, heat 100 ml cream till it comes to a boil. Turn of the heat and add the chocolate. Stir to melt the chocolate and mix into the cream. Take the rest of the cream and whip to form stiff peaks. Fold in with the chocolate mixture. Put in the refrigerator for around 30 minutes.
  10. Once the cake is completely cool, slap on the mousse. No need to be neat! Sprinkle on the hazelnuts.
  11. This is an incredibly rich cake and in my opinion tastes better a day after you make it.
  12. Enjoy!

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Comments

  1. pinkpatisserie says

    Happy blogaversary!! So glad you remembered to celebrate. I can very much relate to the memory +40 issues. My favorite mug says. “You’re not 40, your 18 with 22 years experience”. Beautiful cake and stunning photos as always!!!

    • boxofspice says

      Hey Maria! Haha.. love that quote on your mug, that is so me! Thanks for stopping by as always and thank you for all the wonderful compliments. 🙂

  2. UR says

    Congratulations and Happy Anniversary Box of Spices! What a lovely cake. In love with the cake stand.Will definitely try this one.
    As long a you remember such gorgeous recipes we dont care too!

  9. Sarah says

    That cake is gorgeous! Now I feel like a slacker, having celebrated my “blog birthday” with a few days-old cookies.

  10. monica says

    I can’t wait to make this! It looks sooo goood… One thing though: when you say to preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius, the conversion to Fahrenheit is close to 350 degrees, not 140.

    • boxofspice says

      Monica, you’re right!!! That’s a boo boo. I just fixed it. Thank you so much for pointing it out. And this cake is indeed amazing!! Thanks again!

  11. Mo says

    your pictures are amazing, just make me wanna jump into eat and stuff myself with this gorgeous chocolate cake !!!

  12. Aleksandra says

    Rakhee, how critical is it to use brown sugar in this recipe? If I don’t have it, can I substitute with regular sugar? Thank you.

    • boxofspice says

      Hi Aleksandra. You can easily substitute brown sugar for regular sugar in equal quantities. The difference in the taste should be negligible. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂

      • Aleksandra says

        Made it yesterday and ate it today, like you suggested. Got lazy and didn’t want to bother with the glaze and just used plain whipped cream on top. The cake is amazing!!!! I know I will be making it again soon!

  14. Jen says

    I tried converting the measurements to US, but my numbers seem way goofy. Has anyone else attempted it? 🙂

  15. Sugar and Cinnamon says

    I think the day I finished high school I started losing my ability to memorise anything longer than a paragraph! Happy birthday to your blog! This looks like a seriously good chocolate cake. Bookmarking the recipe 🙂

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