Monday 26 August 2013

Nutella Cake


Nigella Lawson. I tune in to her cooking shows just to look at her and to listen to her talk. And of course for whatever dishes that she cooks or bakes. When you have a face like that, speak like that and cook and bake like that, what can I say except to agree that you are a domestic goddess. Nigella is not only gorgeous but she is oh so articulate. Just listen to her, how can you not pay attention? And she makes cooking and baking seem so simple, a blitz here and a plonk there and out comes this bedazzling dish. Haih! I am so impressed.


Ever since my love affair with Nutella began, I have been searching for more things to do with it other than taking clandestine scoops when no one is looking. I have found Nutella Cheesecake, Nutella Cookies and of course the delectable Nigella's Nutella Cake. I printed the recipe from nigella.com for the longest time but as is customary with me, I sat on it. 

A very thin slice for the cook to sample. The cake passed the test and my guests were duly served.
My parents came for a one week holiday and I hosted a family dinner at home last weekend. My beloved auntie is also back on holiday. So Phong Hong Bakes springs to action. I mean, got to maintain my reputation, mah! Or else my auntie will give me no peace. "She got food blog but we got nothing to eat!". Besides, I promised my auntie to bake some of the cakes I posted for her to sample.


Nigella says that this cake "Not only is one of the easiest cakes to make, it happens - joyously - to be one of the most delicious". Nutella and Nigella, I was sold! Besides, I still had 3/4 of a big jar of Nutella which wasn't moving. You know and I know how the 1/4 went missing :)

This cake is basically a flourless cake and uses ground hazelnuts. No sugar is added as Nutella is already sweet. The only hassle is egg separation. Nigella's recipe uses Frangelico which can be substituted with water or rum. I happen to have a bottle of rum on hand and that's what I used.

When mixing the batter, I was reminded of an earlier cake I attempted, Chocolatissimo. All went well except that when the cake was in the oven, the sides were done much faster than the middle. I baked the cake for 50 minutes, 10 minutes longer than recommended. The middle was nicely done but the sides seemed hard and dry. I was worried. Maybe the next time, I ought to adjust the oven temperature and baking time.


This cake was meant for dessert and if I messed up, it would be a disappointment. I had baked an Ogura Cheesecake early in the morning for my auntie and the cake tanked. It was 4:30 am and I read the recipe wrongly. Instead of 50ml of oil, I added 120ml (that was the milk!) and of course my cake came out extra moist! What a bummer!

In between shopping, cooking and cleaning (I was up since 4:00am and was on my feet non-stop till midnight) I baked 3 cakes (one of which was a disaster) and cooked 2 dishes and a salad. Three cakes and 2 dishes sound very doable on paper but in real life, it takes up a lot of time especially when you have other stuff to take care of.

Anyway, after a while, the hard parts of the cake softened a little and after applying the chocolate icing and topping with the roasted hazelnuts, I was very hopeful. The cake looked very presentable but I had to cut a slice to taste before the guests arrived. And I did just that. The cake would not look so nice with a slice missing but this is family and they wouldn't mind.  And what a relief that the cake tasted very good. It was moist and the combination of freshly roasted hazelnuts with the thick chocolate ganache was simply heavenly!


The cake was very well received with rave reviews from my mum. Thank you mummy! And my very sweet young nephew gave me a score of 100% for the cake. My little niece however, gave it a 99% percent score because she doesn't like nuts. Cute, huh?

Nutella Cake
Recipe source : nigella.com
(My notes and adaptations in red)

Ingredients :

For the cake :
- 5 large eggs (separated)
- 1 pinch of salt
- 125 grams soft unsalted butter
- 400 grams Nutella (1 large jar)
- 1 tablespoon Frangelico (or rum or water)
- 100 grams ground hazelnuts
- 100 grams dark chocolate (melted)

For the icing
- 100 grams hazelnuts (peeled weight)
- 125 ml double cream (I used whipping cream)
- 1 tablespoon Frangelico (or rum or water)(I used rum)
- 125 grams chocolate

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 180C (I used 160C)
2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. (I prepared the egg yolk batter first before whisking the egg whites)
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and Nutella together and then add Frangelico (or water or whatever you are using), egg yolks and ground hazelnuts.
4. Fold in the cooled melted chocolate, then lighten the mixture with a large dollop of egg white, which you can beat in as roughly as you want, before gently folding the rest of them in a third at a time.
5. Pour into a 23cm/9 inch round greased and lined springform tin and cook for 40 minutes or until the cake's beginning to come away at the sides, then let cool on a rack. (I baked the cake for 50 minutes)
6. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until the aroma wafts upwards and the nuts are golden brown in parts : keep shaking the pan so that they don't burn on one side and stay too pallid on others. (I roasted the hazelnuts by baking them in the oven without preheating at 180C for 15 minutes and left them in the oven for another 15 minutes to bake on residual heat)
7. Transfer to a plate to cool. This is imperative : if they go on the ganache while hot, it'll turn oily. 
8. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, add the cream, liqueur or water and chopped chocolate, and heat gently. Once the chocolate's melted, take the pan off the heat and whisk until it reaches the right consistency to ice the top of the cake. (I put cream, rum and chocolate into a stainless steel bowl and used the double boiler method)
9. Unmould the cooled cake carefully, leaving it on the base as it would be too difficult to get such a damp cake off in one piece. (My cake was hard in the beginning and I was able to get it off the base to remove the baking paper on the base of the cake)
10. Ice the top with the chocolate icing and dot thickly with the whole, toasted hazelnuts. If you have used Frangelico, put shot glasses on the table and serve it with the cake.





I'm linking this post to Cook Like a Star, an event organized by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and co-hosted this month by Anuja of Simple Baking and Joyce of Kitchen Flavours. The featured chef for the month is Nigella Lawson.


Photobucket

This post is also linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out

61 comments:

  1. Looks good. Yet to try my hand at baking cakes - I think I'd just start with something very simple...

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    1. Thanks, Arthur! This cake is considered simple and if you can handle egg separation and mixing of the two batters, then you should be alright.

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  2. Your niece doesn't like the hazel nut, I love it! let me finish up all the hazelnut for her! Yummy!

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    1. Jozelyn, hazelnuts and chocolate = yummy!

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  3. Hi Phong Hong, after I made Nutella cheesecake, this was the next cake I was eyeing. But didn't cos overdose of Nutella. Your cake looks moist and wonderfully delicious.

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    1. Mich, you must bake this cake! I can't get enough of Nutella :)

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  4. Hi Phong Hong,
    Your cake looks beautiful and delicious! Wah, baking and cooking for a "dinner makan" is no joke. Especially if you are preparing dishes which requires rempah!
    You did well, the cake looks so good! Definitely a 10 for you!
    Nutella and Nigella, I like that! Haha!
    Thank you for linking!

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    1. Thank you, Joyce! Oh, no rempah dishes this time. I opted for the easy way out - roasted chicken, chicken wings and salad. Even then, it was hectic!

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  5. Phong Hong ah Phong Hong, the way you describe her is like you are talking from the perspective of a man, hahaha! Anyway, I do agree that she is one of the few gorgeous-lookings famous cook in the world! Yoh, your nutella cake looks so yummy. Can I have a slice with extra hazelnuts on top?

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    1. Jessie, woman can also admire woman, mah? If myself admire her like that, for a man lagi 10X more hee..hee...For you, anytime can have extra hazelnuts!

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  6. Dear PH,
    My fav part of her tv programmes, is when she gorged on whatever was delish straight from the fridge when everyone's gone to bed!

    I

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    1. Hah! Hah! Emily, I love that part too!

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  7. Alamak......your chocolate cake really makes me drool. I like the chocolate icing and the hazelnuts topping...and I believe these are the ones that makes everyone drool....and ask for second!

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    1. Mel, after the cake was served, got 3 slices left. I was very tempted to eat some more but I tapau for my brother and his family. I think I will bake this cake again soon.

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  8. Replies
    1. Angel, very tempting! If on diet, don't go near this cake :)

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  9. This cake is making me drool! It is so moist and chocolaty and with the generous toppings = chocolate heaven!

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    1. It is indeed heavenly! I am so going to bake this cake again!

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  10. Replies
    1. Thanks, Sonia! Ini cake banyak-banyak sedap!

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  11. Woah! My kind of chocolatey cake! Hazelnuts are just perfect for the cake!

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    1. Agreed! I wished I had topped with more hazelnuts :)

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  12. Hi Phong Hong! Your cake is so chocolatey! And I agree with you, Nutella + Nigella = must-try recipe! ;)

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    1. Jasline, now I am motivated to try her other chocolate cakes!

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  13. That looks completely irresistable! I'm not a huge Nutella fan (my weakness is in peanut butter) but my brother is and I can tell he will go NUTS for this! (no pun intended). And a Nigella recipe for cake is bound to be sinfully good. Yum!

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    1. Shu Han, how could you not be a fan of Nutella?! Hah! Hah! I am sure Nigella has some peanut butter recipes somewhere, eh? I agree, her cakes and yummilicious!

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  14. What a magnificent cake! So glad it turned out to be a winner. I had to giggle at your niece's review, though :)

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    1. Lizzy, everyone loved the cake and we had a good laugh when my niece revealed her score mark :D

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  15. Hi Phong Hong,

    I always remember you being the BIGGEST NUTELLA fan that I know... The second is my son :p

    Nigella and Nutella!!! - Funny that both words do sound a like similar. I remember asking my son when he was two that if I'm as sexy as Nigella and he said that I'm only as sexy as Nutella. Me looking like Nutella???!!! - LOL!

    With your delicious Nutella cake, you are making your family Nutella fans too!!!

    Zoe

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    1. Zoe, hah! hah! Me and your son can start a Nutella fan club :) Maybe your son loves the taste of Nutella so much that he thinks it's sexy? For a young kid like him, that's understandable, right? Hee..hee...All things considered, I think it is not bad to be compared to Nutella :)

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  16. Wow, wow, wow!!!! Rich with hazelnuts and chocolate topping, who can't resist this cake.....yummy :)

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    1. Esther, cannot resist! Eaten with the roasted hazelnuts, it was heavenly!

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  17. I am sure your family is in chocolate heaven eating this cake, looks so yummy! I dare not bake any more of these rich cakes from Nigella's book for fear of putting on even more weight lol! Been baking and enjoying cakes too much!

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    1. Jeannie, this is one sinfully delicious cake. I bought another jar of Nutella!

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  18. this is the ultimate cure for any serious chocoholic's craving....tender luscious choc cake overflowing with chocolaty goodness....we are certainly going to make this delicious treat for the weekend,thanks for sharing :-)

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    1. kumars kitchen, you and your family will experience lots of joy when eating this cake!

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  19. Looks good. Yet to try my hand at baking cakes - I think I'd just start with something very simple. Thanks for sharing good posting.............................. I like it.

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    1. Hi Amina, very simple cake but stunning results. Do try it!

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  20. your cake was very yum yum but it was too little no chance to tapou back.Hey what happen to the cheese cake ? I was supposed to bring home ??

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    1. EE, I can bake this cake for you again because I also love it. Yah, you were suppose to take the cheesecake home but so kelam kabut didn't give you. The next day, the tikus ate all of it :)

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  21. Hello ph.Lamanya tk masuk dapur ph...macam macam ada.
    Kek ni nmpk sungguh sedap dgn coklat yg meleleh :)
    Psstt kena jaga reputasi horrr ;)...selamat membaking dear ph.

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    1. CM, thank you! Kek ni sedap sungguh! Kalau CM ada kesempatan, try lah. Tak rugi :)

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  22. My Dear,
    very generous on your hazelnut... If only I can pick them up...

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    1. ogypep, I had a lot more hazelnuts. Should have topped with more!

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  23. Wahhhh this looks super yummy cake, PH!!! :)

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    1. Thanks, Sri! I know you will sure love it :)

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  24. wah waaah waahhhhh.....sendiri diet tp tayang kek coklat kat orang, aci ker nih! huh? huh? dah la coklat tu meleleh leleh leleehhh...hisyyyy...
    saja nak bikin orang lain pui pui hor?

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    1. Kak Q, diet tu dah lama kena campak! Tak boleh lah....asyik makan, makan, makan. Tu lah pasal, tayang kek coklat biar semua orang pui-pui sui-sui, gebu-gebu, gitu. Betul, tak? Hee..hee...

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  25. Hahaha @Queenie punya comments make me laugh...she speak just like you. PH!!! that is one SEXY cake...OMG!!! so sedappppp....my daughter if she nampak this...owh my owhh my....sure she pengsan....poor thing she so not lucky cause her mom doesn't know how to make this kind of cake. PH, post kan to me...i want sikit :) ... i see see your recipe, i terus pening...that's how teribble I am in baking...

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    1. Yuss, alahai! Don't pening lah! Actually, Yuss, this cake is considered easy. Difficult part for you is maybe the folding of the egg white with the egg yolk batter. Even if you mess up, the cake will still jadi only thing is it will be more dense, fudgy-like. Just make sure you don't overbake sampai terbakar :) You should try baking. Start with brownies, anak-anak you sure suka.

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  26. Oh Phong Hong,
    I am your big fan now...lol I am already your fan earlier because of the wonderful Terengganu dishes that your cook.
    Your Nutella cake is simply irresistible! I want a piece with lots of hazelnuts : p
    mui

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    1. mui mui, thank you! thank you! Yes, Nutella cake for you with extra hazelnuts coming up!

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  27. the cake looks wonderful! i think you are quite a fast hand fast leg lady..can bake 3 cakes in such a short period!

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    1. Thanks, Lena! Very tiring lah. To bake 3 cakes and to cook is non-stop activity. That weekend I slept like a log hah! hah!

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  28. Hi Phong Hong, I'm a huge nutella and chocolate fan. Love your this awesome to die for cake. Well done, the topping look really good.

    Best regards.

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    1. Thanks, Amelia! I want to bake this cake again :)

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  29. Hi Phong Hong,

    Will the ganache be very liquidly? I'm afraid the chocolate ganache will not be able to hold well under the hot weather.

    Jeff

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    1. Hi Jeff, the ganache is on the liquidy side. You can adjust to reduce the cream for a thicker ganache.

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  30. Awww baking and cooking for the family is the best. Esp when they reward you with compliments and cute comments like that. This looks soo sinful! Thx for linking to LTU!

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    1. Yen, I was very pleased seeing my family enjoying the cake! Very satisfying indeed :)

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