Nutella Day

Apparently, World Nutella Day was on February 5th. But I'm pretty sure every day should be Nutella Day. So to celebrate, I made Nigella Lawson's Nutella Cake. Here's a picture of her cake:


And here's a picture of how my cake turned out:

I covered mine in leftover ground hazelnuts, so it doesn't look at pretty as Nigella's. This cake was amazing. It was actually way easy and fairy inexpensive for an uber-fancy dessert.

Nigella's Nutella Cake

• 6 large eggs, separated
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 13-ounce container Nutellla
• 1 tablespoon Frangelico, or other hazelnut liquor
  
• 1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter a 9-inch springform pan.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whip the egg whites and salt until stiff. Or do this in your Kitchen-Aid. In another bowl, cream the butter and Nutella, then add the Frangelico, egg yolks, and ground hazelnuts. Fold in melted chocolate.

Add a blob of beaten egg whites to the chocolate batter, and mix gently until well-combined. Fold in the remaining whites, one-third at a time, very gently but thorougly. Pour into springform and bake for 40 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting tester, which should come out mostly clean; lightly pressing finger into top to check for a slight bouncing-back; and observing edges beginning to separate from pan. Let cool completely, in pan, on a rack.

Ganache:

• 4 ounces whole hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon rum or Frangelico
  
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet, shaking them around frequently. Do it for about 5 minutes, or until they are lightly browned, then let cool completely. If hazelnuts came with skins on, put them in a towel after toasting and rub around; this will remove most of the skins, if you are diligent.

Chop chocolate, and add to sauce pan with cream and rum over medium-low heat. Once chocolate is melted and components are combined, whisk until mixture reaches desired thickness, then cool. Remove rim of cake pan and pour cooled ganache over, spreading lightly to create a smooth, shiny surface, and apply hazelnuts all over. If you have used Frangelico, put shot glasses on the table and serve it with the cake.