Coffee & Hazelnut Cake

This Coffee and Hazelnut Cake tastes like heaven! Super moist with just the right amount of buttercream to hazelnut ratio. I won't say it's super easy to make just because it's pretty time consuming, but if you have skinned hazelnuts then it's not so time consuming. You can swap the hazelnuts for some delicious macadamia nuts or go for something that you probably already have in your pantry, like some walnuts. This is a nice twist to the more usual chocolate or vanilla cakes, it's always nice to change things up! If you really like a lot of frosting on your cake or you're baking it for someone who does, you'd probably would like to double the frosting recipe, I personally love the look of just frosting the top and the center of the cake, it looks really effortless and homey, Hope you enjoy the recipe!

Let me know what you think!

Xo

Flor

Coffee & Hazelnut Cake

1 cup skinned hazelnuts

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons very strong brewed coffee, cooled

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter two 8x2" round cake pans, then line the bottom with parchment paper.

Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-1o minutes until lightly roasted, shaking sheet once and watching carefully to make sure they don't burn. Let cool. Finely chop 2/3 cup of the hazelnuts and set aside for the cake. Coarsely chop the remaining hazelnuts and reserve for the garnish.

Sift together flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside. In an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until very light and fluffy.

Add eggs very slowly,with the electric mixer running, adding 1 tablespoon of flour during the process to prevent curdling. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the remaining flour, finely chopped hazelnuts, milk, and coffee until well blended.

Spread evenly between the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cakes spring back to the touch or wooden toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool slightly in the pans. Turn out on wire racks and remove paper and let cool completely. 

Buttercream

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons very strong brewed coffee, cooled

Directions

Cream butter and sugar together for at least 5 minutes or until really light and airy, then add the coffee. Mix well. 

Spread half the buttercream on to the base of one cake, lay the other on top and finish with remaining buttercream. Sprinkle the coarsely chopped hazelnuts and voilá!