Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake. Introducing Marika Hackman.

This made me laugh.

And this cake made me happy.

If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you’ll know that I make flourless chocolate cakes with some regularity. There was the divine almond based one here , the nut-free super fudgy one here and this blueberry topped cake.

Hazelnuts and top shelf chocolate make this cake super special. The raspberries make it look as good as it tastes.

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Ingredients for the cake:

1/2 cup (2 oz) skinned hazelnuts
5 ½ oz (70% cacao) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup sugar, divided
6 Tbs unsalted butter
3 eggs, separated

Ingredients for the ganache:

3 ½ oz 70% cacao) bittersweet chocolate chopped
3 Tbs heavy cream
2 Tbs unsalted butter
14 oz fresh raspberries

Directions for the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉.

2. Grease an 8 inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

3. Roast the hazelnuts in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Watch closely so they don’t burn. Let cool. Grind nuts finely in a food processor. (I used King Arthur Flour’s Toasted Hazelnut Flour with really good results. Saved me a step.)

4. In a double boiler (or a heat proof bowl over a sauce pot of simmering water) melt the chocolate, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and butter together. Remove from the heat and stir in the ground hazelnuts.

5. While the chocolate mixture cools, beat the egg yolks until they thicken and turn pale yellow. Fold into the cooled chocolate mixture.

6. Beat the egg whites in a mixer until foamy, then slowly beat in remaining sugar until soft peaks form. Mix a small amount of whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then very gently fold in the rest of the egg whites.

7. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 20 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes then run a knife around the pan. Let cool completely.

8. Carefully turn the cake out onto a serving plate and remove the parchment paper.

9. Pour ganache on the cake and spread with a metal icing spatula over the top of the cake. Stud the surface with raspberries.

Directions for the ganache:

1. Melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and butter in a double boiler. Stir well. Let ganache cool a little until it thickens.

Recipe from Bake & Decorate by Fiona Cairns

Just heard this new song from newcomer Marika Hackman.

The combination of her soft voice and the dreamy instrumentation makes the song very compelling. Then it abruptly ends, sort of like a cliff hanger. I love that.