Almond & Hazelnut Cake

Since it's that holiday season, I thought I would share another cake recipe. What could be better than chocolate with hazelnuts and almonds? This cake can be made in advance and frozen, to thaw simply remove it from the freezer, unwrap and let it sit on the counter.

Ingredients: serves 8

Cake:

4 lg. Eggs

1/2 c Superfine Sugar (just put it in the food processor)

1/2 c ground Almonds (measure after they are ground)

1/2 c ground Hazelnuts (measure after they are ground)

1/3 c All-purpose Flour

1/2 c slivered or sliced Almonds

Filling:

3 1/2 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate

1 T unsalted Butter

1 1/4 c Heavy Cream

Confectioners Sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 7-inch layer cake pans (or 8-inch) and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Whisk the eggs and superfine sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and foamy.

Fold the ground nuts into the egg mixture, then sift the flour and fold into the mixture. Pour into the prepared pans.

Scatter the slivered (sliced) almonds over the top of one of the pans. Bake the cakes in the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until springy to the touch.

Let cool slightly in the pans, then turn over and remove the parchment and allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.

Filling: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let the mixture cool a little. Whip the cream until it is stiff, the stir 1/4 of the cream in to the chocolate mixture to lighten it up. Now fold in the rest of the whipped cream in batches, making sure there are no white streaks.

Place the bottom of the cake on a round or flat plate and spread the filling over it. Then gently place the top (almond side up) over the filling. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving. (If frozen then remove from the freezer, unwrap and let it thaw on the counter before serving.)

Enjoy!