Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake! It’s chocolate-y, it’s nutty, it’s rich and it’s delicious. Oh, and it just happens to be gluten free.

a chocolate hazelnut cake on a wooden cake stand with a slice cut.

About This Recipe

If you love the flavor of Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, you’ll love this cake. This flourless cake relies on whipped eggs and chocolate for it’s structure.

The cake is very rich and tender with a prominent hazelnut flavor. It’s wonderful all by itself, but even better with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

Ingredients

ingredients for chocolate hazelnut cake in glass bowls.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

  • Hazelnut Flour – Hazelnut flour is available in larger markets and it can be purchased on-line. To make your own hazelnut flour, process toasted hazelnuts in a food processor until you have a fine powder.
  • Semi-Sweet Chocolate – Use a good quality semi or bitter-sweet chocolate in this recipe. Do not use regular chocolate chips in place of chopped chocolate. Chocolate chips have reduced cocoa butter and added stabilizers.

Process Photos

See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.

a cake pan coated with ground nuts. Melted butter in a bowl. Chocolate in a bowl.
  • Butter the cake pan and coat it with some of the hazelnut flour.
  • Brown the butter and pour it into a micro-wave safe bowl.
  • Stir in the chocolate. Microwave in short increments until the chocolate completely melted.
  • Stir in the hazelnut flour.
flour photos showing whipped eggs with chocolate batter folded in.
  • Combine the sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl.
  • Whisk the eggs until they are “ribboned”. That is, when you lift the whisk the eggs leave a “ribbon” on the surface.
  • Whisk the chocolate into the eggs in 3 increments.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
a chocolate hazelnut cake in a pan before and after baking.
  • Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
  • Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding.

Storage

The cake keeps, covered, at room temperature for a week. Leftover slices can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to a month.

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a slice of chocolate hazelnut cake on a white plate with a fork.
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Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Chocolate hazelnut cake is rich and delicious, and it just happens to be gluten free.
Prep Time40 minutes
Bake Time35 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
12 servings
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Generously butter a 9"x3" spring-form pan. Set aside 1 oz (¼ cup) of the hazelnut flour. Use half of the set-aside hazelnut flour to dust the buttered pan.
  • Melt 4 oz unsalted butter in a small saucepan. Cook until the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and become brown. Drain the butter into a microwave safe bowl, leaving the solids in the pan.
  • Add the chopped 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate into the bowl with the browned butter. Microwave for 30 seconds and then stir. Continue microwaving and stirring in 30 second increments until all the chocolate is melted.
  • Stir the remaining 5 oz of hazelnut flour and 2 oz (¼ cup) of the granulated sugar into the chocolate mixture. Add 2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk 6 large eggs, ¼ teaspoon table salt and remaining 4 oz (½ cup) sugar on medium-high speed until tripled in volume and the color turns pale yellow. Fold ⅓ of the eggs into the chocolate then fold the chocolate into the remaining eggs. Mix until no streaks of eggs are visible.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the rest of the set-aside hazelnut flour evenly across the top of the batter.
  • Bake until the batter is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few wet crumbs, about 30-35 minutes.
  • Cool 10 minutes before unmolding. Serve the cake slightly warm or room temperature.

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Notes

To make your own hazelnut flour, process toasted hazelnuts in a food processor until you have a fine powder. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 82mg | Potassium: 114mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 362IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2mg
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