Nutella Cake

Nutella never last very long in our house.
We love it on toast, on ice-cream but nothing beats eating it straight from the jar.
When I found a recipe for Nutella Cake on the web, I decided to give it a try.

A tub of nutella sounds a bit much but the cake does not need any additional sugar.   There is no flour added to this cake, so it might be a good choice for some with a wheat allergy. 

I baked it in a 9 1/2"  form, slightly larger than recommended.  The recipe says it serves 9,  I'd say it serves 10 -12 as dessert after dinner, as it is quite rich. The cake turned out moist but firm enough to cut into.

Nutella Cake

Nutella Cake
Serves 8
Nigella Lawson: How to be a Domestic Goddess
http://www.nigella.com/recipes

CAKE
6 large eggs -- separated
1 pinch salt
115 g soft butter
1 jar of Nutella (400 g)
1 tbsp Frangelico or water
100 g finely ground hazelnuts
120 g dark chocolate, melted

ICING
100 hazelnuts
125 ml double cream
1 tablespoon Frangelico or water
125 g dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Prepare a 9-inch spring-form pan: grease and line with parchment or wax paper.

Whisk the eggs whites and salt until stiff but not dry.
In a separate bowl, beat butter and Nutella together, then add Frangelico (I omitted this), egg yolks, and ground hazelnuts.
Fold in the cooled melted chocolate, add a dollop of egg white before gently folding the rest of them in a third at a time.
Pour into the prepared pan and cook for 40 minutes or until the cake's beginning to come away at the sides, then let cool on rack.

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until the aroma wafts upward and the nuts are golden brown in parts: keep shaking the pan so they don't burn on one side and stay too pallid on others. If you use unpeeled nuts, transfer them to a kitchen towel, and rub, rub, rub. Most of the skins should come off. Transfer to a plate and let cool.

In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, add the cream, liquer or water, and chopped chocolate and heat gently. Once the chocolate's melted, take the pan off the heat and whisk until it reaches the right consistency to ice just the top of the cake. Unmold the cooled cake carefully. Ice the top with the chocolate icing, and decorate with the hazelnuts. Serve with a lightly sweetened whipped cream.

I did not toast the hazelnuts. Turned out fine anyways.