Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
This chocolate hazelnut cake leans into deep cocoa flavor and finely ground nuts for a soft, balanced cake that’s not overly sweet.
Servings: 12 servings
Equipment
- 9" springform pan or nonstick cake pan
Ingredients
cake
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup all purpose flour, measure by lightly spooning into your cup and leveling with the side of a knife.
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup finely ground hazelnuts, measure them after grinding
- 1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granualted white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp buttermilk
icing
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/3 cup salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar, or more if needed to stiffen the frosting
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp buttermilk, or more as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ground hazelnuts for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Butter and flour a 9-inch spring form pan (or nonstick cake pan with a round of parchment paper at the bottom.)
- Melt the chocolate on the defrost setting, or 50% power of your microwave. (Or over a bowl of simmering water)
- Mix the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda into a small bowl along with the ground hazelnuts.
- Cream the butter using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add both sugars and beat until fluffy.
- Beat in eggs 1 at a time and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go to get everything incorporated evenly.
- Beat in vanilla, then the melted chocolate.
- Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk in 2 additions each, beating just until blended after each addition.
- Spread the batter into the pan and take a minute to get it even from side to side. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, Cool cake in pan on a rack. Note: Don’t over bake: this cake goes from moist to dry quickly ~ pull it as soon as a tester comes out with moist crumbs, not clean.
Frosting
- Melt the chocolate gently and let it cool until just warm. Beat the butter until creamy, then mix in the powdered sugar and cocoa. With the mixer on low, slowly add the melted chocolate, followed by the buttermilk and vanilla, mixing just until smooth and fluffy. Add more sugar for a stiffer frosting, and more buttermilk for a silkier texture.
- Spread thickly on cooled cake and top with crushed hazelnuts.
Notes
adapted from Bon Apetit 1995
Nutrition
Calories: 477 kcal · Carbohydrates: 58 g · Protein: 5 g · Fat: 26 g · Saturated Fat: 13 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 67 mg · Sodium: 78 mg · Potassium: 191 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 45 g · Vitamin A: 469 IU · Vitamin C: 0.3 mg · Calcium: 56 mg · Iron: 2 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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