A sumptuous autumnal chocolate cake which makes the most of the season's bounty. Complete with a touch of coffee, sweet and tart apple filling and a rich chocolate ganache topping.
Tip the hazelnuts onto an oven tray and roast at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 10 minutes. Remove the skins by rubbing between your hands or in a clean tea towel. They come off very easily.
Reserve a handful for decoration, then roughly grind the rest in a coffee grinder, food processor or blender.
Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy quite pale.
Beat in the eggs alternately with the sifted flour and baking powder.
Mix in the coffee.
Finally stir in the hazelnuts and grated chocolate.
Divide mixture between two 21cm round silicone cake moulds or lined tins and bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 30 minutes or until firm to the touch and an inserted skewer comes out more or less clean.
Leave to cool in the moulds for about ten minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Apple Filling
Peel, core and chop the apples.
Simmer in a covered pan with the sugar, lemon juice and zest for 5-10 minutes until the apple is soft but not too mushy.
When cool use it to sandwich the two cakes together.
Chocolate Ganache
Melt the chocolate, cream and liqueur gently in a pan over a very low heat. Alternatively melt in a bowl suspended over a pan of hot, but not boiling water.
When melted, stir gently until just combined. Try not to over stir or the mixture might split. If it does, pour in a little hot cream.
Allow to cool a little, then pour over the top of the cake. Decorate with the reserved hazelnuts along with some chocolate shavings.
Notes
If your cooking apples are particularly tart, you might want to add a little extra sugar.If you'd rather not use alcohol in the ganache, swap it for strong coffee instead.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per jar. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.