We all need a few special occasion cake recipes up our sleeves. This coffee praline cake is one such. Two layers of coffee hazelnut sponge are sandwiched together with coffee and praline buttercream. Homemade hazelnut praline and caramelised hazelnuts adorn the top. Oh! Did I mention the coffee chocolate ganache?
It was the last day of my holidays and having seen the lovely fruit scones created by two of my favourite food bloggers Kath of The Ordinary Cook and Shaheen of Allotment 2 Kitchen, I sort of thought it would be nice to invite some friends over for tea. Scones, cake and tea, what could be better?
As I had a bit more time than usual I thought I would take the opportunity to make something a bit special for this month’s We Should Cocoa hazelnut recipes (as well as my friends, ahem). I poured over a few recipe books and couldn’t find anything I was happy with, so I ended up doing my own thing which was, sort of, very loosely based on the Coffee and Hazelnut Cake from Bake & Decorate.
In the end I made cheese scones rather than fruit ones as I thought something savoury before the cake would be a better pairing. But if it hadn’t been for those fruit scones, I would never have made this most excellent coffee praline cake.
What Is Praline?
Praline is a combination of roasted nuts and caramelised sugar. Conceived in France a few hundred years ago, the original recipe was for whole caramelised almonds. These days praline (praliné in French) tends to refer to any caramelised nuts that are then coarsely or finely ground.
Coffee Praline Cake
If you like baking, you’ll have fun with this coffee and praline cake. There are four elements to the cake, so although it’s not what I would call an easy cake, it’s very satisfying to make. And the end result is totally worth that extra effort.
There’s a coffee cake, which is fairly straightforward, buttercream, which is also easy, chocolate ganache, which can be a bit tricksy. Then there’s the praline.
This was my first attempt at making praline. Luckily, although it sounds a bit daunting, it’s actually quite easy. You just need to caramelise hazelnuts, wait for them to cool, then blitz them. The only thing you need to keep an eye on is the sugar. You definitely don’t want to burn it. And for that matter, be careful as the sugar gets very hot and you don’t want to burn yourself either.
I spent a couple of hours cracking hazelnuts to produce those needed for this recipe. The good news is that you don’t have to. It’s easy to buy hazelnuts, both with skins on and without skins. I roasted these hazelnuts and then removed the skins. But again, you can buy ready roasted skinned hazelnuts too. It all depends how far ‘from scratch” you want to go.
Praline Top Tip
If you like salted caramel, add a pinch of sea salt to the sugar whilst it’s melting.
What Does Coffee Praline Cake Taste Like?
There’s no other way to describe this cake other than lush. Various layers with their different tastes and textures make for a wonderful whole. It cuts well and has a lovely moist but light texture. It tastes delicious too and the crunchy caramelised nuts are irresistible.
The coffee comes though quite strongly with the chocolate taking a back seat, but the wonderful taste of roasted hazelnuts predominates and lingeres on long after the coffee has disappeared.
Much as I shouldn’t preen, I was exceedingly pleased with this coffee praline cake and it would make a great celebratory cake for the coffee or hazelnut lover in one’s life. CT says if the lover in your life doesn’t like coffee or hazelnuts, it may be time to throw your net further afield.
Other Layer Cake Recipes You Might Like
- Chocolate buttercream Victoria sponge cake
- Chocolate layer cake
- Dan Lepard’s orange cassata cake
- Genoise sponge cake with lime & white chocolate
- Mango cake with chocolate sauce & cream
- Tiramisu cake
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this coffee praline cake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or advice for making praline?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.
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If you’d like more hazelnut recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Coffee Praline Cake. PIN IT.
Coffee Praline Cake
Ingredients
Praline
- 200 g hazelnuts skins on, or ready roasted without skins
- 100 g granulated sugar
Cake
- 225 g unsalted butter softened
- 225 g light muscovado sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 180 g wholemeal flour (I used 160g wholemeal and 20g buckwheat)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 100 g ground hazelnuts
- 75 ml Greek yoghurt
- 50 ml strong black coffee
Praline Buttercream
- 50 g unsalted butter softened
- 100 g icing sugar sifted
- 1 tbsp strong black coffee
- 75 g praline
Chocolate Coffee Ganache
- 80 g dark coffee chocolate (I used 55% Coffee Affair from Chocolate and Love)
- 10 g unsalted butter
- 40 g double cream (heavy cream)
- 75 g praline
Instructions
Praline
- If your hazelnuts have skins on, place them in a tin and roast them in the oven for 5 minutes at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4). This loosens the skins and adds flavour to the nuts. Leave them to cool then rub the skins off, either between your hands or in a clean tea towel.200 g hazelnuts
- Grind 100g to a fine(ish) consistency and set aside. A coffee grinder is good for this, otherwise use a blender or food processor.
- Place the remaining 100g of whole hazelnuts in a large pan with the sugar and put on a low heat until the sugar has caramelised.100 g granulated sugar
- Turn out onto a board and leave to cool.
- Break off a few whole nuts and reserve for decoration, then roughly blitz the rest. And voila, you have praline!
Cake
- Preheat oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4).
- Whilst the nuts are cooling, cream the butter with the sugar until it’s light in colour and fluffy in texture. I do this by hand with a wooden spoon, but electric beaters are probably easier.225 g unsalted butter, 225 g light muscovado sugar
- Beat in the eggs one by one. If the mixture curdles, add a spoonful of the flour to bind.4 large eggs
- Sieve in the dry ingredients and stir until everything is just mixed in.180 g wholemeal flour, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Stir in the reserved ground hazelnuts followed by the yoghurt and finally the coffee.100 g ground hazelnuts, 75 ml Greek yoghurt, 50 ml strong black coffee
- Divide the batter between two 20cm silicone moulds or lined cake tins. Level the tops with the back of a spoon and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out more or less clean.
- Leave to cool in the tins for ten minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Buttercream
- Cream the butter and icing sugar together until it’s pale in colour and fluffy in texture.50 g unsalted butter, 100 g icing sugar
- Beat in the coffee until the mixture is smooth.1 tbsp strong black coffee
- Stir in half of the praline.75 g praline
- Spread the buttercream over one cooled cake, then place the other one on top.
Chocolate Ganache
- In a bowl suspended over a pan of hot water, melt the chocolate, butter and double cream.80 g dark coffee chocolate, 10 g unsalted butter, 40 g double cream (heavy cream)
- Once the chocolate has melted, stir carefully until smooth. Be careful not to over stir though, or the ganache might split.
- Leave to cool slightly then pour over the cake top and spread to the sides.
- Scatter the remaining praline and the reserved whole pralined nuts over the top.75 g praline
Mary says
Yum! Who doesn’t love a coffee chocolate hazelnut cake??!!
Well I do!!
Also your stuffed Squash looks just the job too.
Lots of fun in the kitchen.
Thanks Choclette :))
Choclette says
I’m pretty sure it’s not just the two of us Mary. At least I’m hoping so! And hopefully there will be a few takers for the squash too.
Maya Russell says
Well done on making the praline. The cake looks delicious.
Sophie says
Waw!! Your filled huge cake looks so pretty & fabulous too!MMMMMMM,…looks outstanding too!
Choclette says
Thank you Emma – I shall be making that praline again for sure.
Emma @CakeMistress says
Wow, the flavours in this cake sound intoxicating. What a beautiful treat.
Choclette says
Sushma, FoodyCat, CC, Hazel & Margaret – thank you all for your kind comments.
Margaret says
I love praline and could eat a slice of your cake now!
Hazel says
…LUSH indeed! That whole cake would be gone in seconds if it were in front of me right now. Mmmm. Well done on doing your hazelnuts – time clearly well spent and well rewarded with this absolutely fabulous cake!
The Caked Crusader says
Fab looking cake and a real labour of love, by the sounds of it!
Foodycat says
Chocolate, coffee and hazelnut! Gorgeous!
Sushma Mallya says
Such a perfectly done beautiful cake,looks so yum
Choclette says
Celia – what a lovely complement, thank you. It’s always good to make an exception 🙂
Joanna – thank you. Now I’ve got my head around making praline and realising it’s not that difficult, I shall be repeating the process. Have you made it at all? If so, any tips?
Kath – phew, yes, that’s lucky indeed.
Ananda – glad you like the look of it.
Ananda Rajashekar says
Juts brought from good hazelnut, will give ur cake a go! scrumptious!
Kath says
But you like hazelnuts – thank goodness!
joanna says
What a fabulous first praline cake! What a cracker that one is Choclette. I adore coffee in cakes and praline is just one of my favourite things in the whole world.
celia says
Choc, that looks like something you’d find in the window of an expensive French pastry shop! Wow! The lover of my life doesn’t like coffee, but I’m keeping him..hey, after all, he loves my life. 🙂
Choclette says
Thanks Suelle – it’s so nice when things turn out as one had hoped.
Dom – oh do join in, I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. The secret is to make the cake and then give it away – a case of do as I say rather than as I do I fear!
Gillian – yeah, they were the best bit.
Kath – enjoyed reading your comment, made me giggle. Thanks for the compliments. The weird thing is I don’t actually like coffee. Oh do get cracking with those nuts, it’s very satisfying making something when you’ve put so much effort into it – but you’d know all about that.
Catherine – I did have a peek at the application form, sort of had to really. Sadly, don’t think I’m quite in that league.
Johanna – you don’t like coffee or you won’t drink it for health reasons? Just wondering because I’m not really a coffee fan.
Liz – thank you. Once for my recipe book – te he!
Oxslip – I was a little surprised by the OMG, but it made me laugh. Friends were just lucky I was on holiday.
KitchenMaid – And I was looking forward to your contribution 🙁 Nutella or equivalent is allowed. Haven’t yet been inundated from down under!
CityHippy – thank you and glad you don’t have to go a-hunting.
BVG – thank you, trying hard not to preen here 🙂
Aforkful – cor will do nicely.
Wendy – thanks
Chele – thanks. Cake long gone now – unfortunately 🙁
Chele says
A wonderful addition to the We Should Cocoa collection – don’t suppose you could pop a slice inthe post to me lol. I must extend thy digit and post my entry too!!!!
Wendy@The Omnivorous Bear says
Lush indeed… lush, lush, lush!
aforkfulofspaghetti says
Mmmmmm, yes – we should cocoa, indeed. Cor, as Gregg Wallace would say 😉
Brownieville Girl says
Oh man – coffee, chocolate and hazelnuts – a combination made in heaven!!
I’d love some now!
cityhippyfarmgirl says
Choc I think CT might be on to something there. Lucky for me my lover likes hazelnuts and coffee…phew!
That cake looks suPERRRB! Layers of sweet goodness.
oxslip says
OMG. I don’t say that lightly (or barely ever at all actually). That looks amazing, chocolate is so much more chocolately with coffee, it’s one of the best combinations there is. Except praline! Your friends are pretty lucky
The KitchenMaid says
I agree, the comment by CT had me in stitches. Alas, I haven’t come up with anything for We Should Cocoa this month (various reasons, but chiefly because I haven’t been able to find any hazelnuts! Maybe there’s a nationwide shortage that I haven’t heard about… or there is suddenly an army of NZ food bloggers about to unleash their recipes on you). Anyway, this recipe takes the, err, cake. Delish!
Liz says
a classic Chocolette … an absolute classic…love it
Johanna GGG says
looks delicious – I love praline and chocolate though I would leave out the coffee – for my own good!
Catherine says
Mmmm that looks amazing! I agree with your savoury choice of the cheese scones also! Oh by the way, I heard on the radio yesterday that the chocolate company “Green & Black” are looking for a “chocolate taster”, I thought of you instantly haha!
Kath says
Oh that comment by CT made me guffaw ( and I was trying to swallow a gulp of coffee at the time!) There was almost consequences. Dare I say that the cake looks like it might be one your best yet, although obviously there is a lot of competition for that spot. The combo of praline, hazelnuts, coffee and chocolate – that might just push me over the edge. Well done on the cracking of the nuts. I was thinking about using some walnuts from a friend’s tree for a coffee and walnut cake, but I haven’t managed to find the cracking time yet. Thank you for the mention and the big compliment, you are very kind.
Dom at Belleau Kitchen says
no… THIS is the cake!… i’m contributing to the ‘We Should Cocoa’ world this weekend with my hazlenut/choc creation even though The Big V has told me not to make any cakes this weekend due to weight gain…
Gillian says
Choclette, you had me at caramelised hazelnuts. Yum.
Suelle says
That looks delicious, Choclette. A fine use of a good combination of flavours!