Every year the residents of the street that I live on get together, put up some christmas lights and catch up on the year parts or in the case of new people to the street, meet everyone else. We all bought a plate or two. Given how my marshmallows went over at my housewarming earlier in the year and that the neighbors that I did invite liked them I thought I’d make some more. Something a bit more festive than last time though; gingerbread and champagne.

They both went down quite well amongst the people in the street with no real clear favorite. The champagne flavour was quite subtle but there nonetheless and the gingerbread tasted just like you’d expect, just more fluffy in texture.

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Tags:Marshmallow, Cinnamon, Ginger, Champagne, Wine, Dessert, Recipe

Every now and again you come across a word you think is a bit of an exaggeration, but then once you follow through with it you find out it’s an understatement. Really I should have picked it from the recipe but I had enough on my mind to really think it through. Five eggs, a bit of brandy, mascarpone, half a kilo of nuts and plenty of dark chocolate. Yeah. Rich. It was as much of a meal as the Spiced Lamb Pistachio and Beetroot Salad I actually had for dinner.

Rich Italian Chocolate Cake with Crushed Hazelnuts

Rich Italian Chocolate Cake with Crushed Hazelnuts
250g hazelnuts
250g of almond meal
250g of dark chocolate, finely chopped
100mL of brandy
60mL of espresso
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons of milk
1 cup of caster sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 tub of mascarpone

Heat the oven to 180ºC. Grease two 20cm sponge tins and dust with cocoa. Roast the hazelnuts on an oven tray for 15 minutes until the skins are blackened, wrap in a tea-towel and let them steam and cool. Rub off the skins then grind in a food processor.

Mix the first seven ingredients plus half of the sugar and the egg yolks in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl to soft peaks then slowly beat in the rest of the sugar until the egg whites are glossy. In several small batches, gently mix the egg whites into the cake mix. Divide the mix between the two sponge tins and bake in the middle shelf of the oven for 45min to an hour or until a skewer comes out clean, or with a few crumbs. Leave it to cool .

Spread the mascarpone on the top of one of the cakes then squish the second one on top, dusk with icing sugar and serve with either more mascarpone or some ice cream.

UPDATE: I gave the rest of this cake to some friends the following day and it tasted even better once the flavours had time to properly mingle with each other. So I’d recommend making the cakes, leaving them wrapped in plastic in the fridge for 24 hours and then spreading them with mascarpone and serving it with ice cream.

Tags:Chocolate, Hazelnut, Eggs, Cake, Mascarpone, Recipe

Via The Kitchn, I came across something stunning that I knew I had to bake as soon as humanly possible. A Hazelnut and Brown Butter Cake covered in chocolate ganache. Of course, I threw in my own twist with a layer of apple between the cake and the chocolate, to make it my own. Pears would have worked well too but I happened to have some delicious apples sitting around that were begging to be eaten.

Hazelnut and Apple Cake with Chocolate Ganache

This isn't any ordinary cake, it's more of a dacquoise which is a meringue or cream with ground nuts mixed in. Today I used Hazelnuts left over from the torte I made a few weeks ago. The tricky things with this cake is the air bubbles from the beaten eggs is what gives this cake its light and delicate structure, and probably explains why mine sunk a little in the middle and broke apart as it cooled. Chocolate to the rescue to cover those bits up though!

Apple and Hazelnut and Brown Butter Cake

1 Cup of Hazelnuts
3 Apples
250g Unsalted Butter
1 Vanilla Bean
1⅓ Cups of Icing Sugar
⅓ Cups of Flour
5 Egg Whites
3 Tablespoons of Castor Sugar
100 grams Dark Chocolate
⅓ Cup of Thickened Cream

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C

Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. When done wrap them in a tea-towel and let them steam until cool. Rub them in the towel to remove all of the skins.

Line the bottom of a 10" cake tin with baking paper and butter the edges. Slice the apples thinly and layer evenly on the bottom of the cake tin.

Place the butter and seeds from the vanilla bean in a saucepan and melt together, stirring often until the butter has browned.

Grind the hazelnuts and icing sugar together until the nuts are fine, mix with the flour and set aside.

In a stand mixer, whisk together the egg whites and castor sugar until stiff-peaks are formed in the egg whites. Alternating between the nut mixture and the butter in thirds, combine with the egg whites. Pour the final mixture over the apples in the cake tin and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely and turn out, upside down on the platter you're going to serve it on so the apples are on top.

While the cake is cooling, over a double boiler melt the chocolate and then whisk in the cream. Pour the ganache over the cake and spread evenly. Allow to cool and set.

Update: Actually, after typing out the recipe, I think I forgot to add the flour! It still looks and tastes okay but it would add to the reason the cake was so delicate.

Tags:Recipe, Hazelnut, Nuts, Chocolate, Dessert, Butter, Vanilla