As of today, my Croatian blog is a teenager. It’s been 13 years since my first, quite timid post. The only reason why I know the exact date is because I was organized enough to set a reminder. Normally, I’m much more relaxed about dates – I find it enough to know that the blog’s anniversary is in September, the month when I question everything and embark on new projects.
And even though I often question everything, the point of writing a blog included, I will spare you my thoughts and just thank you for being here. I love sharing a tiny part of my world with you.
Tomorrow I’ll be hosting a beautiful international giveaway on Instagram so keep an eye on the feed and now off we go – the recipe for a proper celebratory, decadent hazelnut and chocolate cake (if you prefer less cocoa in your chocolate, feel free to omit the cocoa powder from the batter and the final result will be less intense).
HAZELNUT AND CHOCOLATE CAKE
Makes one 18-cm cake
HAZELNUT
- 120 g hazelnuts
- a piece of butter (1 tablespoon), to grease the pans
- 3 eggs (2 separated)
- 60 g sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
- pinch of salt
- 20 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- 300 ml heavy cream
- 150 g chocolate
Preheat the oven to 180 C and toast the hazelnuts. Once you can feel a beautiful smell coming from the oven (it will take them about 5 to 10 minutes in a preheated oven), remove the hazelnuts from the oven, let them cool and finely grind them using a food processor.
Line two 18-cm cake pans with baking parchment. Grease the sides.
In medium bowl mix whole egg, 2 yolks, sugar vanilla sugar and salt, using an electric mixer until pale and thick.
Fold in the flour, cocoa and ground hazelnuts. Fold in whisked egg whites (they need to be stiff).
Spoon into prepared pans and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
To prepare the chocolate icing in a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until it starts to boil and then pour it over chopped chocolate. Stir constantly until chocolate is melted. Cool and then chill. After 1 h, using a mixer whip the ganache for 5 to 10 minutes.
Use a third of the icing to sandwich the cakes together. Spread more icing on the top and the sides of the cake.
Notes
- What you see in the photos is a 18-cm cake with three layers – I multiplied all the ingredients for the cake by 1.5
- If you want to pipe some decorations on the cake, double the amount for the icing. If you don’t use up all of it, it will keep in the fridge for at least a week or you can freeze it and use it later when needed. To defrost it, place it in the fridge overnight and then keep it at room temperature for several hours. It goes without saying, but let’s say it anyway: do not re-freeze it.
Happy blogiversary, everyone ❤
