Rich & Indulgent Festive Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake

Rich & Indulgent Festive Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake

If you’re looking for a stunning and equally delicious showstopper festive cake for your table this year to share with your loved ones….then look no further!

This rich, fudgy and indulgent cake is based on the flavours of one of my favourite Christmas chocolates and will definitely impress your guests!

Equipment

8” cake tins

Mixing bowl

Spatula

Cake leveller

Piping bags

Palette knife

 

Ingredients

Sponge

300g Self Raising Flour

150g cocoa powder

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

400g golden caster sugar

300ml buttermilk

2tsp vanilla bean paste

3 large eggs

220ml vegetable oil

130ml water mixed with 3tbsp instant coffee

 

Chocolate hazelnut buttercream

260g unsalted butter

560g icing sugar

250g hazelnut chocolate spread

1-2tsp boiling water

 

Filling & top

150g hazelnut chocolate spread

35g roasted and chopped hazelnuts

 

Drip

150g double cream

200g milk chocolate drops

35g roasted and chopped hazelnuts

 

To decorate

Few small fondant stars/sprinkles

Little icing sugar to dust

 

Method


Sponges

  1. Grease and line the base and sides of two 8” tins and preheat oven to 160 fan.
  2. Place all the dry ingredients for the sponges in a large bowl and roughly mix. Add buttermilk, vanilla, beaten eggs, vegetable oil and coffee mixture to the bowl, mix well and divide equally between the two tins. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.

Buttercream

  1. Beat the butter until pale in colour, add icing sugar then beat until light and fluffy. Add the chocolate hazelnut spread and keep beating until very smooth. Loosen with a little boiling water if needed if buttercream is too firm.

Assemble

  1. Slice cooled sponges in half equally and place a little buttercream on a cake board/cake stand to help secure the bottom layer.
  2. Place the Nutella in a piping bag and snip off the end. Set to one side.
  3. Add two spoonfuls of buttercream to the top of the sponge and smooth with a palette knife. Pipe a rough swirl of the hazelnut spread on top of the buttercream then sprinkle a handful of roasted and chopped nuts on top.
  4. Continue with the other sponge layers in the same way with the buttercream and nuts. Cover the whole cake with the remaining buttercream and smooth the top and sides with a large palette knife and pop in the fridge to chill.

 

Ganache

  1. Place chocolate and cream in a microwaveable bowl/jug and heat on 20second bursts until you have a smooth silky ganache.
  2. Add the chopped roasted hazelnuts and mix well. Leave to cool until thick enough to drip. Pour ganache into a piping bag and squeeze enough to drip down the sides all around the edge of the cake. Top with remaining ganache and smooth with a palette knife and leave to set.

 

Decorate

  1. Once the ganache has firmed up a little, place the remaining chocolate hazelnut spread in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 8 trees on top and decorate each one with a little star and a dusting of icing sugar.

 

 


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