Torta di Nocciole

As I am hosting Weekend Herb Blogging this week I thought I'd focus another local ingredient with IGP status - Hazelnuts.



As part of the Truffle Festival, from Friday to Sunday in Piazza Risorgimento, we've been able to savour their taste in the Salotto di Gusto.



It's proved to be a very popular exhibit and while there were various educational activities



most of the interest was in the tasting.



The most traditional dish would be the Torta di Nocciole (Hazelnut Cake) and there seems to be a few variations - I've decided to try out a recipe in the October edition of Cucina Moderna.



Torta di Nocciole/Hazelnut Cake

200 grams hazelnuts, toasted
120 grams icing sugar, divided
2 eggs
100 grams 00 flour
1 sachet vanilla baking powder
120 grams melted butter, cooled
30mls espresso, cooled
icing sugar, extra, for dusting
Place the hazelnuts and half the sugar into a food processor and blitz until roughly chopped - you don't want it as fine as almond meal, you still want to see pieces of hazelnut. Set this to one side.

Place the eggs and the rest of the icing sugar into a bowl and beat until thick and creamy then whisk in a handful of the chopped hazelnuts. Sift together the flour and baking powder and add this to the batter, along with the butter, coffee and the remaining hazelnuts. Fold this gently through using a metal spoon until just amalgamated.

Pour this into a buttered and floured 24cm cake tin and bake in a preheated 170°C oven until golden and cooked through - about 30 to 45 minutes.

Cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. When cold, finish with a dusting of icing sugar.

Now if you'd like to join in with Weekend Herb Blogging there is still time - you'll find the details in the hosting post.