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?
200ghazelnutsskins on, or ready roasted without skins
100ggranulated sugar
Cake
225gunsalted buttersoftened
225glight muscovado sugar
4large eggs
180gwholemeal flour(I used 160g wholemeal and 20g buckwheat)
2tbspcocoa powder
1tspbaking powder
½tspbicarbonate of soda
100gground hazelnuts
75mlGreek yoghurt
50mlstrong black coffee
Praline Buttercream
50gunsalted buttersoftened
100gicing sugarsifted
1tbspstrong black coffee
75gpraline
Chocolate Coffee Ganache
80gdark coffee chocolate(I used 55% Coffee Affair from Chocolate and Love)
10gunsalted butter
40gdouble cream (heavy cream)
75gpraline
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
Notes
If you can't find coffee chocolate, just add ¼ teaspoon of instant coffee to the melting chocolate mix.If you like salted caramel, add a pinch of sea salt to the sugar whilst it's melting.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.