Hazelnut Cake With Nutella Mousse Recipes

CHOCOLATE-GLAZED HAZELNUT MOUSSE CAKE

Steps:

• Make shortbread base:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide shortbread base off bottom), then lock on side of pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper.
• Pulse hazelnuts with sugar in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped. Add flour, butter, cocoa, and salt and pulse just until a dough forms.
• Press dough evenly onto bottom of springform pan with your fingers. Prick all over with a fork, then bake until just dry to the touch, about 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer base in pan to a rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Remove side of pan and carefully slide out parchment from under shortbread, then reattach side of pan around shortbread base.
• Make mousse while shortbread cools:
• Sprinkle gelatin over water in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Heat gelatin mixture over low heat, stirring, just until gelatin is melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk in chocolate hazelnut spread until combined and remove from heat.
• Whisk together mascarpone and chocolate hazelnut mixture in a large bowl. Beat together cream, cocoa powder, and sugar in another large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed until just combined, then increase speed to high and beat until cream just holds soft peaks. Whisk one third of whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whipped cream until well combined. Spoon filling onto shortbread base in pan, gently smoothing top, then chill, covered, at least 3 hours.
• Make ganache and glaze cake:
• Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan and remove from heat. Add chocolate and let stand 1 minute, then gently whisk until completely melted and smooth. Transfer ganache to a small bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened but still pourable, about 20 minutes.
• Run a warm thin knife around inside of springform pan, then remove side. Slide cake off bottom of pan and transfer to a serving plate. Pour ganache onto top of cake and spread, allowing excess ganache to drip down sides.

HAZELNUT CAKE WITH NUTELLA MOUSSE

Steps:

• FOR THE CAKE
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Butter and flour a 9-inch round or square baking pan.
• In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts until coarsely chopped. Reserve.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, hazelnut paste, and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time.
• Add the baking powder, salt, and cocoa and beat to combine.
• Gradually add the flour, stopping the beater when it is just combined.
• Fold 1 cup of the chopped hazelnuts into the batter, reserving the rest for garnish.
• Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.
• Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pan, and let cool completely.
• FOR THE MOUSSE
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the Nutella and mascarpone.
• In another large bowl, beat the heavy cream to soft peaks (see page 234)-you can use an electric beater here or just a whisk and good old-fashioned elbow grease.
• Add a spoonful of the whipped cream to the Nutella mixture and stir until you don't see any streaks.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold a third of the remaining whipped cream into the Nutella mixture. To do this, lift the mixture gently from underneath, bring the spatula up, turn it over, and fold the mixture over as you rotate the bowl slowly. You want to do this gently; the point is to keep it fluffy and not squish the air out of the whipped cream. Repeat this process two more times with the remaining whipped cream. You're done when you should have a fluffy, homogeneous mixture.
• TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKES
• Cut the cake into 3-inch squares or rounds and cut each of these in half equatorially.
• Schmear the Nutella mousse on both the bottom and the top half of each of the hazelnut cakes, then give each of the cakes a light sprinkey-dink of the chopped hazelnuts. Place the top half back on the bottom and serve immediately.