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Saturday 20 December 2008

Chocolate Hazelnut Nutcracker Cake ~ The Cake Slice Baker’s


This month I am pleased to reveal our third bake from ‘The Cake Slice Bakers! This event is hosted by two lovely ladies Giggi and Katie. The nominated book we are baking from this year is, Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne and what a delicious cake for this festive period and just perfect in every way! I am pleased to share with you the ~ Chocolate Hazelnut Nutcracker Cake. I am scheduled posting this bake to ensure it is posted in good time as I am planning on a little Christmas shopping first thing today!






Chocolate Hazelnut Nutcracker Cake

Sourced from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne.

I haven’t got x 3 -9 inch (23cm) cake tins so I used x 3 -8 in (20cm) cake tins instead without any problems. I also made chocolate stars and added sprinkles to my cake instead of chocolate curls for decoration.

Makes one 9inch triple layer cake

Ingredients – for the cake layers

1 cup skinned hazelnuts (about 4 ounces)

10 whole graham crackers (5½ oz), broken into pieces

1¼ cups sugar

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely grated

10 eggs, separated

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup all purpose (plain) flour

1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice (mixed spice)

1 tsp baking powder

Dark chocolate curls for decoration or stars as in my case and sprinkles


Method – for the cake layers


1. Preheat the oven to 325 ° F/170°C/Gas Mark 3. Butter the bottom and sides of 3 9inch cake tins. Line the base with parchment paper and dust the sides with flour, tap out any excess.

2. Spread the nuts onto a baking tray and toast for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Leave to cool completely. Increase the oven temperature to 350 °F/180°C/Gas Mark 4.

3. In a food processor, grind the graham crackers to crumbs. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add the toasted nuts to the processor (no need to wash) and add ¼ cup of sugar. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground, but do not blitz too much or else it will form a paste. Add the nuts, graham cracker crumbs and grated chocolate together in the bowl and mix.

4. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and ½ cup of sugar using an electric mixer until well blended. Add the oil and vanilla slowly, beating until ribbons begin to form on the surface of the mixture. Then, fold in the chocolate nut crumbs.
5. Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and beat until thick and foamy. Gradually add the remaining ½ cup of sugar, continuing to beat until the whites form stiff peaks. Fold a third of the egg whites into the yolk mixture and mix well to slacken the mix. Sift over the flour, spice and baking powder and fold in. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites until no streaks remain but do not over mix.

6. Divide the batter between the three pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

7. To assemble the cake, place a layer on a cake stand, flat side up. Sprinkle it with a third of the rum syrup and let it all soak in for 1-2 minutes. Spread ¾ cup of crème Chantilly over the top, right to the edge. Repeat with the remaining layers, letting the syrup soak in before adding the crème.

Use the rest of the crème to cover the sides of the cake. Decorate the top with dark chocolate curls.

Rum Syrup

¼ cup sugar

¼ water

¼ cup dark rum


Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Place over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the rum. Allow to cool before using.

Crème Chantilly

2 cups heavy (double) cream

3 tbsp confectioners (icing) sugar

1½ tsp vanilla extract


Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla in a chilled bowl and whip until the cream is stiff but not too thick or buttery.


If you would like to view more Chocolate Hazelnut Nutcracker Cakes made by other members of The Cake Slice, then please visit our blogroll site: The Cake Slice Bakers!




31 comments:

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

A beautiful cake! A real party or special dinner presentation.

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Beautiful work as always, Rosie!

Sweet Treats by Dani said...

oh rosie u make all your baked goods look so scrumptious :)

Maggie said...

The cake looks heavenly Rosie.
Happy Christmas! Mx

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

As always Rosie, this cake also looks perfect. And I love the chocolate stars.

Best wishes to you and your family for a Happy Christmas and New Year.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Wow, that's a pretty cake! It looks really delicious!

Cheers and Merry Christmas,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

Rosie,you are there celebrating more and more..hats off..so rich and liking..You are the queen of a bakery kingdom..

Gigi said...

Rosie your cake is beautiful! I love all the pics. especially the one at the end very festive!

Nic said...

I love the way you decorated this Rosie, and it looks really delicious inside too!

Anonymous said...

Love it, love it, love it!

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Beautiful cake Rosie! :)
I will be baking this peanut butter cake we were taking about for Tuesday... I will let you know the result.
Have a wonderful day, Margot

The Blonde Duck said...

That must have taken you forever! It looks wonderful!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Your sweets always turn out beautifully Rosie. It is breakfast time but I can still envision a nice thick slice for lunch.

Jo said...

hi rosie, love your cake decorations especially with the stars and silver hearts. Have a very merry X'mas

Kelly-Jane said...

Beautiful cake Rosie :)

Hornsfan said...

Rosie,
This cake is beautiful! It looks like something that would make an excellent presentation for the holidays.

Deeba PAB said...

Merry Xmas to you & your family Rosie my dear. That's a cracker of cake...beautiful! love the stars & silver garnish! Loads of love xoxoxo Deeba

Caroline said...

Rosie, your cake looks great. The stars gave it a festive touch, so fitting for the holidays. Hope you got all your christmas shopping done.

Anne said...

Ooh so many lovely layers to gorge on! Love the idea of hazlenuts mmm

Katie said...

I love how you decorated your cake, it looks pretty and festive. Happy holidays!

J.L. Danger said...

this sounds so delicious! All of your recipes are delicious though. I don't think I have ever made a triple layer cake before though!

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

This is exquisite! A real festive cake.

PG said...

I'm looking through all of the baking on your site. Looks like you've been cooking up a storm. This cake looks delicious. I'm sure with the pumpkin pie spice and hazelnut, it would taste fabulous.

Have a great holiday!

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Rosie,
I made peanut butter cake! :)
Different one, take a look here:
http://www.coffeeandvanilla.com/?p=4600

Have a wonderful Christmas!
Margot

Maria said...

What a beautiful cake ... and delicious too I am sure! Happy holidays!

Donna said...

This looks Beautiful sweetie!! Merry Christmas to you and your family!!!hughugs

Rosie said...

Thank you all so very much and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.

Best wishes Rosie x

Cakelaw said...

A beautiful cake Rosie, beaurtifully decorated.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Rosie, your cake (as usual) came out splendidly! Your pictures are always so lovely! I'm working to get myself there.
~ingrid

Rosie said...

Thank you cakelaw and Ingrid.

Hopefully things are now back to normal here and I can't wait to visit all your blogs :)

Best wishes Rosie x

Rosie said...

Hi Linda, a warm welcome from me, and it's always lovely to *meet* people that read my little blog!!

Thank you for leaving a comment and I do hope you will enjoy 2009 with me *huge smile* I hope to produce some wonderful bakes to share with you and everyone.

Lovely to hear from you!!! :0D


Best wishes Rosie x