Hazelnut and Chocolate Cake

Cristina from La Cucina di Cristina is hosting both editions of Weekend Herb Blogging and as I'm still in Alba I'll be featuring one of the areas most prized ingredients - no, not truffles but hazelnuts.




Hazelnuts of Piemonte have been granted IGP status and this covers the provinces of Alessandria, Asti, Cuneo, Novara, Turin and Vercelli. Next week here in Alba, there's going to be 4 day festival celebrating this much loved nut so to get into the mood, I'll be making one of the more traditional cakes of the area - a hazelnut and chocolate cake.

When it comes to choosing the chocolate component, well I have to go with another local product - Ferraro Bitter Cocoa.


There's a massive factory just outside of town and there's a delightful side effect of its presence - depending on the day, in the morning the smell of hot chocolate can fill the air and just last week, I'm sure the city smelt like a huge chocolate orange!



Hazelnut and Chocolate Cake

150 grams hazelnuts, toasted & skinned, ground
150 grams flour
50 grams cocoa powder
1 sachet baking powder (1 sachet=16 grams=3 teaspoons)
2 eggs
150 grams raw sugar
100 grams butter, melted and cooled
milk
Beat the eggs and sugar until light and creamy.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together - add this to the creamed eggs, followed by the ground hazelnuts. Drizzle in the butter and fold through adding enough milk to form a spoonable batter.

Pour into a lined 24cm springform tin and bake in a pre-heated 170°C oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or until firm and cooked through.



Let it cool for a few minutes before running a spatula around the the edge of the tin to make sure the cake has separated from the pan. When cold, finish with a dusting of icing sugar.