06 Mar Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

It was my mother’s birthday last week and I made a flourless chocolate hazelnut cake for her. Everyone who loves chocolate knows that flourless chocolate cakes are the best, because they’re all about that chocolate. There are two ways to make a flourless chocolate cake, either without any flour at all which will give you a super gooey cake with a crackly top(if there’s enough sugar) or made with some kind of nut flour. I find that flourless chocolate cakes with nut flour are super moist and chocolatey while still holding it’s shape and being more cake like than brownie-ish.

In this case I’ve adapted one of my favorite recipes: Nigella’s Chocolate Olive Oil Cake and substituted the almond flour for hazelnut flour. Then I made a ganache with dark chocolate and hazelnut milk and decorated it with chopped hazelnuts and dark chocolate shavings. The hazelnut flour gives the cake a more grown up flavor which I surprisingly like but if you prefer the version with almond flour, like my mother does, you could always use it instead.

The cake is made with olive oil instead of butter and I often find that using some kind of vegetable oil in cakes keep them moist for a longer period of time. The dark chocolate ganache is made with hazelnut milk instead of heavy cream. Usually when making ganache with heavy cream you have to use a chocolate with lower percentage of cocoa in order for it to not separate and become grainy. It’s happened to me too many times… Using milk, or in this case, a plant based milk makes it possible to use chocolate with 70% cocoa, which is my favorite, without screwing up the ganache. The hazelnut milk also adds some hazelnut flavor to the ganache and since this is a chocolate hazelnut cake we want it to taste hazelnut, obviously. What I’m trying to say is that it’s naturally dairy free and it wouldn’t be nearly as good with all the dairy in the world!

If you really like a fudgy and moist chocolate cake you’ll want to under-bake it like I did. It should be in the oven for 40-45 min but I always take it out after 35 min. It will still hold together very well but the top wont be as puffed up and the center will be perfectly gooey.

This is one of those cakes that really is better the next day, after sitting in the fridge over night. Even though you can’t tell from the pictures it’s best served with something tart like passionfruit, raspberries or even kiwi and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And I warn you, this cake is very rich and you might just be able to eat a few spoonfuls before wanting to take an afternoon nap.

Notes:

• The hazelnut flour can be replaced with almond flour.
• If you want a fudgy cake, take it out from the oven after 35 min instead of 45 min.
• If you make the cake a day ahead, don’t make the ganache until right before serving. Otherwise it will set and you wont be able to spread it on top of the cake.
• Make sure that the eggs are at room temperature. It’ll be so much easier to beat them until fluffy and airy.