I’m writing with good news and hazelnut chocolate cake (which means the news is extra good). On Wednesday my mom and I went out for coffee, and while we were waiting and chomping down on a scone, I got a text from our realtor that someone made an offer on our Portland home! And we accepted it!!!! Reader, I can hardly put into words what a huge relief it is to have this process started—hopefully everything goes smoothly and we can officially hand over the keys on November 1st. And wouldn’t you know, when we got the text that an offer came in on our Portland house, we also got a message within minutes that the homestead passed the county inspection, passed the National Scenic Area inspection, and our dwelling permit was approved! When it rains, it pours, as they say. We honestly wouldn’t have gotten here without our amazing builder, Philip of Hainline Construction, so I made this cake as a thank you for him + his team and I’m giving it to him tomorrow at the walkthrough where he’s handing over the keys to the house. SUCH an exciting time!!! (Insert approximately 1,000 smiley emojis here)

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

And in case you were wondering, this is why no photos of the cake slices exist—it’s not very good cake-gifting-etiquette to slice it before bequeathing it to someone else. But you can rest assured knowing that the inside of the cake is a VERY rich and delectable dark chocolate brown. I actually made this chocolate hazelnut cake for the first time 3 years ago for my friend’s baby shower. She really wanted petit fours so I originally made this recipe into little square cakes, and they were DELICIOUS. Like, hands down the best cake I’ve ever made alongside this one. I wrote up the recipe while I was making it, and there it sat in my drafts for the next 1,067 days. I’m sorry! It’s truly a shame that it took me so long to get this made and shared, but better late than never, I suppose. I made a few adjustments to adapt it to a standard layer cake, and it came out even prettier than the petit fours version, so I’m pretty darn happy with it.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Flavor-wise, let’s get into it! The buttercream frosting has a homemade roasted hazelnut butter incorporated into it, so you get a wonderful nutty hazelnut flavor with every bite. And the cake itself has coffee, cocoa, and hazelnut liqueur in it (I recommend the Frangelico brand), and is probably the most moist cake I’ve ever made. And then you make a little chocolate glaze (which is very easy, you just melt butter in a sauce pan and stir chocolate chips into it until they melt) and drizzle it over the cake. And if you want to be extra fancy, you can pipe some buttercream on top of the cake and then put some of the roast hazelnuts on it.

I hope you enjoy it, reader, and that it gives you a bit of celebratory spirit as it has given me! I don’t know when I’ll be writing again since I’ll be packing and moving the next couple weeks, but when I do I have a feeling it will be about the homestead 🤗

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Hazelnut Chocolate Cake
5 from 3 votes
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Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

This hazelnut chocolate cake has three moist layers of chocolate cake, with a toasted hazelnut buttercream between each one, and is topped with a chocolate glaze and toasted hazelnuts.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword hazelnut chocolate cake
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 16 people
Calories 733 kcal

Ingredients

Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

  • 2 1/2 cups flour sifted
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder sifted
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream room temperature
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup hazelnut liqueur such as Frangelico
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup hot but NOT boiling coffee

Toasted Hazelnut Butter + Hazelnut Garnish

  • 1 pound raw hazelnuts shelled
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Toasted Hazelnut Buttercream

  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3/4 cup toasted hazelnut butter recipe above
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur such as Frangelico
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Dark Chocolate Glaze

  • 5 ounces about 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (about 60% cacao)
  • 3 ounces 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with with whisk attachment, beat together the eggs and sour cream until smooth and creamy. Add the vegetable oil, hazelnut liqueur, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
  4. Switch to the paddle attachment, and add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix at low speed until coarsely combined (the batter will be thick and chunky, and that's okay). With the mixer running at low speed, add the coffee in a steady stream and mix until it is *just* incorporated and a smooth batter forms, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as-needed.
  5. Evenly distribute the batter between the three cake pans and place in the oven. Bake until a toothpick insert inserted the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes minutes. Set tray on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold the cakes onto the wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

Toasted Hazelnut Butter + Hazelnut Garnish

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Evenly distribute the hazelnuts in one layer on a large lipped baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake until fragrant and any exposed pale parts of the hazelnut are lightly golden, about 10 to 13 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 4 minutes, then take 1 cup of the hazelnuts and set it aside to use for decorating the cake at the end.
  2. Dump the remaining hazelnuts onto a clean kitchen towel. Rub the hazelnuts in the towel to get their skins off. Leaving the skins behind (the skins can be composted), place the skinned hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor. Add the salt and process at high speed until a smooth, oily butter forms, about 2 to 3 minutes (if you're using a high-powered blender, it will take longer). Makes about 1 and 1/4 cups toasted hazelnut butter.

Toasted Hazelnut Buttercream

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth, then add toasted hazelnut butter in bowl of stand mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the powdered sugar, hazelnut liqueur, heavy cream, and salt and mix at medium high speed until fluffy and airy in texture, about 3-4 minutes.

Assembly

  1. Use a long knife to cut the domes off the cake layers so that they are flat on top (enjoy the domes as a snack!) Place the first layer on the serving plate and frost the top of it with the buttercream using an icing spatula or rubber spatula. Place the second layer of cake on top and repeat the icing. Place the third and final cake layer on top and ice the top of the cake and a thin layer of icing on the sides. Place the cake in the freezer for 15 minutes to let the icing harden (this will keep the crumbs of the cake from mixing into the frosting as much). Remove the cake from the freezer and continue frosting the cake until you no longer see the cake showing through the frosting. (If you want to have the stars of buttercream on the top of the cake, you'll need to reserve about 3/4 cup of buttercream). If you'd like, you can mix a couple tablespoons of icing in a bowl with a tablespoon of hazelnut butter, and dab it on the cake in a few places and then smear it smooth with the spatula. This will create some fun variation in color.
  2. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 10 minutes while you create the chocolate glaze (follow recipe below). Remove the cake from the refrigerator and drizzle the glaze on the cake, using a clean icing spatula or rubber spatula to gently smooth out the glaze on the top of the cake and allow some snazzy drips to form along the sides. When you're happy with the appearance, put the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the glaze to firm up a bit.
  3. Use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and filled with the remaining buttercream to pipe little star "dollops" on top of the cake in a circle around the edge, trying to evenly space them apart from each other. Place a toasted hazelnut on each one. Serve and enjoy! Will keep covered in an airtight container for several days.

Dark Chocolate Glaze

  1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the chocolate chips and stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat and use immediately.
Nutrition Facts
Hazelnut Chocolate Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 733 Calories from Fat 414
% Daily Value*
Fat 46g71%
Saturated Fat 17g106%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 22g
Cholesterol 89mg30%
Sodium 661mg29%
Potassium 447mg13%
Carbohydrates 76g25%
Fiber 6g25%
Sugar 49g54%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 643IU13%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 104mg10%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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