RECIPE: Nutella & Roasted Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

Nutella. We know it isn't the best for us, but it is so good. On toast, with croissants, stirred into porridge...however you enjoy Nutella you will love this showstopper of a cake. Layers of rich chocolate sponge paired with a light Nutella buttercream and crunchy roasted hazelnuts all make for a delicious cake for special occasions. To give this cake a bit of height I decided to cook the sponge in these small cake tins I picked up from The Range, however as I only had two of them it did mean cooking the cakes in two batches. You could always use regular sized cake tins and skip the part in the instructions about repeating the cooking process again, just depends on your desired outcome. Also, if you have any leftover Nutella buttercream (that you can resist eating straight from the mixer!) you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

What you'll need:

Chocolate Cake

225g Plain Flour

85g Cocoa Powder

350g Caster Sugar 

1.5 tsp Baking Powder

1.5 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

2 Eggs

250ml Milk

125ml Vegetable Oil

250ml Boiling Water 

Buttercream Icing

175g Unsalted Butter

175g Icing Sugar

300g Nutella

Crushed roasted hazelnuts, optional

What to do:

1) Preheat the oven to 180'C. Grease and line two small cake tins.

2) To make the cake, place all of the cake ingredients in a mixing bowl (expect the boiling water) and use an electric whisk to beat the mixture. Continue mixing until you have a smooth consistency. 

3) Add the boiling water to the mixture very slowly, just a splash at a time. Don't be worried - the mixture should be very runny after this stage. 

4) Divide half of the cake mixture between the two small cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or when a skewer comes out clean when poked into the middle. 

5) Once the cake is cooked remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

6) Grease and line the small cake tins again. Divide the remaining half of the mixture between the two cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes. Once cooked transfer to a wire rack to cool.

7) While the cakes are cooling make the Nutella buttercream. Place the butter into an electric food processor and blitz on a very low speed until the butter is lighter in colour. 

8) A teaspoon at a time, add the icing sugar into the food processer whilst it is running on a very slow speed.

9) Next spoon in the Nutella and blitz for a final time. If it isn't a spreadable texture then you can add a splash of milk at this point. 

10) In readiness for assembling the cake you'll need to trim the sponges to ensure they have a flat top to them. I've found using a breadknife is the easiest for this, as well as getting down to the level of the cake to see if it is straight or not. 

11) To assemble the cake - spread a circle of buttercream on the board you're displaying the cake on. Place the first cake layer on the board (on top of the buttercream) and then spread a generous layer of Nutella buttercream on top. 

12) Place the next cake layer on, spread with buttercream and repeat until you've run out of sponges. 

13) Cover the outside and top of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream (the crumb layer) and place in the fridge to set.

14) After around 30 minutes you can add the final layer of buttercream around the outside of the whole cake. Use a spatula to achieve a smoother finish.

15) Place some of the remaining buttercream in a piping bag and pipe on swirls on top of the cake or you can decorate in anyway you would like to. I also added a stripe of crushed roasted hazelnuts around the bottom of the cake, which added a nice crunch to the cake. 

What's your favourite showstopper cake for special occasions?

Feel free to leave a comment -  I love reading every single one :)

Helen x