Chocolate and hazelnuts cake

Here a recipe for a chocolate and hazelnuts cake, wonderfully gorgeous, moist and crunchy thanks to the chocolate chunks inside.
A perfect cake for breakfast or for a snack, but it can also be served as a dessert.
The recipe is from a great French pastry chef, Nicolas Bernardé, Meilleur Ouvrier de France.
The hazelnut paste gives the dessert the perfect moist texture.
The chocolate crémeux is the best I’ve ever eaten …….

Chocolate and hazelnutz cake

Yield: 4

No Ratings

Print

Ingredients

Chocolate crémeux

Toggle ingredient group

• 1/3 cup + 1 tsp (82.5 g) full fat milk
• ½ tbsp (11.25 g) inverted sugar or honey
• 1.5 (30 g) medium egg yolks
• scant 2.5 oz (66 g) Barry chocolate St Domingue 70%, chopped (I used 75 g)
• ¼ cup + 3 tsp (72 g) heavy cream

Cake

Toggle ingredient group

• 6 tbsp (46 g) pastry flour
• a heaping tsp (5 g) baking powder
• ¼ cup + 1 tbsp (63 g) superfine granulated sugar
• 1 tsp (6 g) inverted sugar or honey
• 1.5 (80 g) medium whole egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp (46 g) hazelnut powder
• a generous pinch of salt
• 1.5 oz (45 g) hazelnut paste
• 2 tbsp (33 g) heavy cream
• 3.5 tbsp (33 g) rice bran oil
• a scant oz (25 g) Piedmont hazelnuts
• 2.5 oz (66.5 g) Barry chocolate St Domingue 70%

Kirsch syrup

Toggle ingredient group

• 1/8 cup + 2 tbsp (50 g) water
• 2 tsp (10 g) superfine granulated sugar
• 2 tsp ( 8 g) Kirsh (I used Rhum)

Instructions

Chocolate crémeux

To prepare the day ahead.In a small saucepan, place the egg yolks, milk and inverted sugar.

Cook, stirring constantly until temperature reaches 180F(82°C).

Pour the mixture over the chocolate, in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition.

Add cold heavy cream and blend with a hand blender until you get a smooth mixture.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Cake

In the bowl of a food processor, pour the 7 first ingredients and mix on speed 2.

Add hazelnuts paste, heavy cream and oil and pulse until you get a smooth mixture.

Add chocolate and whole hazelnuts and pulse to get chunks (NOT too small).

Kirsch syrup

In a small sauce pan, bring water and sugar to a boil.

Let cool, then add Kirsh.Set aside.

To bake

Heat fan oven at 295F(145°C).

Butter and flour a loaf pan 8x3x2 inches (20x7.5x5.5 cm).

I did not find the mould recommended by the pastry chef, so I used a 7.5x3.5x2.5 inches (19x9x6.5 cm).

Pour the mixture nad bake for 42-45 minutes.

To serve

Pour the syrup in a spray bottle and spray each side of the cake.

Dust with icing sugar half of the cake (lengthwise).

Pour the chocolate crémeux in a pastry bag with a star nozzle.

Garnish with crémeux the remaining half of the cake.

Decorate with chocolate, hazelnuts and gold dust.

Notes

Crémeux: I used Callebaut Madagascar chocolate 67,4%.

I used more chocolate then the quantity called by the recipe because I wanted the crémeux to be more firm.

Cake: I used Callebaut Madagascar chocolate 67,4%.