Chocolate is one of my greatest addictions, I confess! A great pleasure for mind and soul. Indulging in to chocolate wasn’t an issue to me until my late twenties. Back then my exercise routines allowed me to manage weight very well. Nowadays, in my late thirties, things are quite different, tougher, I admit. Now I search for healthier options, making better choices everyday.
Therefore I started to experience different kinds of chocolate, with less sugar content and more cocoa. First the 70% and more recently I’ve been savouring the 85% cocoa version, an exquisite flavour that combines perfectly with a fruit infused tea.
The dark chocolate and hazelnut cake idea came as a healthier substitute for the ordinary chocolate cake, yet enriched with hazelnuts. This great recipe is easy to execute and is an amazing crowd pleaser.
Hope you enjoy! Please leave your feedback!
Bella.
- 6 Eggs
- 4 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp Rice Flour
- 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 4 tbsp Ground Hazelnuts
- 4 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 6 tbsp Hazelnut Cream (or anyother nut cream)
- 200g Dark Chocolate (70%)
- 1 cup Chopped Hazelnuts
- Pre-heat the oven 350 F
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and the brown sugar, until it doubles its size and reaches a fluffy texture.
- In another bowl, smaller, mix in the rice flour, the cocoa, the baking powder and the ground hazelnuts.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the first bowl, folding them in slowly with a spatula. When combined add the remaining dry ingredients and repeat the process.
- Pour the mixture into a 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick placed in center comes out clean.
- Take it off the oven and let it cool for 10 min.
- Meanwhile prepare the cream. In a bowl, chop the dark chocolate and add the coconut oil, dissolve them through heat, either using the microwave (see instructions bellow) or a water bath.
- Add the peanut butter and mix until well combined, as a cream.
- Remove the cake from the cake pan, and slice it into two layers.
- Cover one layer with the cream, stack the other one and do the same. Then with the remaining cream cover the cake sides.
- Spread the chopped hazelnuts on top of the cake.
- If you use the microwave to dissolve the chocolate, select medium heat and 20 seconds periods. In between fold the ingredients with a spoon.