Monday, April 5, 2010

Chocolate Lover's Dream: Flourless Chocolate Nutella Cake



Now I know...I know...this cake sounds REALLY evil but I made it for a good cause...It was Passover last week and I had to bring dessert. I thought of making creme brulee again, but it's not that easy to make individual desserts for 18 people. So I decided to actually bake. Now I think I have made it clear that I do not bake. Oddly enough, recently I developed a liking to baking; in fact I really enjoy it! So I decided to make something with simple flavors but that will please all different pa lattes! CHOCOLATE! I find it hard to believe that there is anyone out there that does not like chocolate; so it was a pretty easy choice. I found a recipe I used in culinary school and added a very magical ingredient to it: NUTELLA! Nutella, the delicious hazelnut and chocolate spread is fluffy, creamy goodness. The addition of the Nutella and a touch of coffee was a perfect compliment to this chocolaty goodness!

Flourless Chocolate Nutella Cake
*Just an FYI, this cake is so dense that it could probably feed more like 20-25 people.*

Cake

6 large eggs- separated
1 Tsp Instant Coffee
1 stick soft unsalted butter
1 jar of Nutella
1 tablespoon Kahlua
1 Cup finely ground hazelnuts
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Ganache Topping
1/4 cup crushed hazelnuts
1 cup heavy cream
4 oz bittersweet chocolate

*Preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter a 9-inch spring form pan.

1. Melt your chocolate over steam or in a double broiler.
2. Place the jar of nutella in the microwave for 30 seconds to loosen it up a bit.
3. In a mixer, combine butter, coffee, Kahlua and Nutella...make sure to scrape out every bit of that goodness!
4. With the mixer on low, add in the egg yolks one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next.
5. Add in the melted chocolate and combine.
6. In another mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Slowly fold in the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
7. Pour into the pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes or until top has set.
8. While the cake is baking, make the ganache by bringing the cream up to a high simmer.
9. Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted.
10. Once the cake is ready, let it cool for 10 minutes. Then remove from pan and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
11. Once cooled pour the ganache on the cake and smooth out. Sprinkle with hazelnuts and slice yourself a piece!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

What size jar of Nutella? I have the huge Costco size, but the regular grocery store size is much smaller.