Best Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau Recipes

THE BEST CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Bake two chocolate sponge cakes. Once cooled, slice each cake into two even pieces for a total of 4 layers.
• Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350°F.
• Whip the dulce de leche, cream cheese, butter, and Nutella together until smooth.
• Cover a plate with foil. Place the first cake layer on the plate and apply a layer of frosting on top of it.
• Sprinkle on some chopped hazelnuts on top of the cream. Repeat the process with the remaining cake layers, leaving the top layer unfrosted.
• Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining cake cream. Pop the cake in the refrigerator to set.
• Bring the heavy whipping cream to a boil. Pour it over the chocolate chips in a medium bowl and let it sit for a few minutes. Stir the mixture until smooth and creamy and let it cool to room temperature.
• Using a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the tip cut off, pipe the chocolate along the edge of the cake, allowing the chocolate to drizzle down the sides. Pipe some of the chocolate in the center of the cake and spread it evenly with a spatula.
• Scatter some hazelnuts on the outer edges of the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 2-3 hours. Slice and enjoy!

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CELEBRATION CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease four 6-inch-round, 3-inch-tall cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.
• Put the hazelnuts in a food processor and grind them until you have small crumbs. Measure out 1/4 cup of the hazelnut crumbs and set them aside for the frosting.
• Pour the remaining hazelnut crumbs into a large bowl and whisk in the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, vanilla and eggs. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and then stir in the hot coffee. It will be a very thin batter.
• Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Begin checking for doneness at 25 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them onto a greased cooling rack.
• For the frosting: While the cakes are cooling, use an electric mixer to beat together the powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and salt until smooth. Mix in the heavy cream until smooth. Scoop out a tiny amount of frosting for the mustard-colored dollops, add the mustard yellow food coloring and mix until combined. Transfer the yellow frosting to a piping bag with a small round tip. To the remaining frosting, add the dusty rose pink food coloring and mix until the desired shade of pink. Measure out 1 cup of the pink frosting and transfer it to a small bowl. Fold in the reserved 1/4 cup ground hazelnuts.
• Level your cake layers and spread the top of one of them with the hazelnutty frosting. Place a second layer on top, then frost the top with more of the hazelnutty frosting. Continue with the remaining 2 layers. Frost the top and sides with the remaining pink frosting without nuts.
• For the decorations: Decorate with mustard dollops of frosting around the edge. Add marzipan house cutouts of white houses with green shutters, crushed hazelnuts, green grass sprinkles, orange sun sprinkles or whatever else you'd like!

HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare the springform pan by coating it in a thin layer with 2 tablespoons of the softened butter. Add the cocoa powder to the pan and tap the sides to coat the bottom and sides evenly. Discard any excess cocoa powder. Put the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven on the center rack until just fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer immediately to a kitchen towel to stop them from cooking. Use the towel to rub off the skins. Set aside to cool. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Fill a 1- to 2-quart pot with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a bare simmer over medium heat. Place the dark chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl and set it over the pot and simmering water (this is a bain-marie). The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Let the chocolate melt, and then stir gently. Remove from the heat when melted.
• Chop the hazelnuts into small pieces using a chef's knife or a food processor. Make sure you don't turn them into powder. Whip the egg whites with an electric mixer with the salt until they are almost at stiff peaks. Try not to over-whip. Mix together the remaining 5 tablespoons butter with the chocolate hazelnut spread in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. Stir in the espresso. Add the yolks and stir briskly to combine. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts and melted chocolate. Add one-fourth of the whipped egg whites to the chocolate hazelnut mixture and stir to lighten the batter. Then gently fold the rest of the egg whites into the batter in 3 additions. Don't over-fold. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
• Bake on the center rack of the oven until the sides of the cake start releasing from edges of the pan, 40 minutes. This cake is almost a hazelnut fudge, so no need to poke with a toothpick to check if the inside is ready or not. The cake will come out of the oven nice and fluffy and souffled, but it will deflate to half the size during its cool-off period. Serve garnished with some powdered sugar and whipped or cream or gelato, if using.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and the flour. Add the eggs, hazelnuts, chocolate chips, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir well. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 1 hour.
• Cool the tart for at least 30 minutes before serving.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT GELATO

Steps:

• In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.
• Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with hazelnuts.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CREPE CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare the crepe batter: Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, milk and cream in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, hazelnut meal, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in some of the milk mixture. Gently whisk from the center of the well, making a thick, smooth batter. Then, while whisking, gradually add remaining milk mixture and whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla and butter. (Alternatively, combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend on low speed until smooth.) Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 48 hours.
• Prepare the chocolate cream: Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk in some of the milk to create a thick paste. Gradually add remaining milk while whisking until mixture is smooth and well-combined. Whisk in egg yolks and add butter.
• Cook milk mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly and occasionally scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a rubber spatula. Once the mixture comes to a boil and becomes very thick, about 5 minutes, whisk it vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. Press hot cream mixture through the sieve into the bowl with the chocolate. Let it stand for 2 minutes, then mix it until smooth and well-combined. Add brandy or coffee and stir to combine. Use a rubber spatula to stir the mixture until it has cooled to about room temperature and is smooth and silky. Cover with plastic wrap, pressed into the surface of the custard, and chill until ready to use.
• Cook the crepes: Melt a little bit of butter in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and let the pan get hot. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add a scant 1/4 cup (about 3 tablespoons) crepe batter to one side of the pan. (You don't want to use too much batter or you'll have thick crepes.) Quickly tilt and swirl the pan to spread the batter to an even thickness across the bottom of the pan and about 1 inch up the sides.
• Return the pan to the heat and cook crepe until very lightly golden and set on one side, about 45 seconds. Tuck a small offset spatula under the edge of the crepe, grab onto it with your fingers, and quickly flip it over. Cook until light golden brown on the other side, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Slip crepe onto a rack to cool. Once crepes are cool, transfer them to a baking sheet and cover with a light towel to keep them from drying out. Continue with remaining batter, occasionally wiping out the skillet with a paper towel and very lightly buttering the skillet every few crepes as needed. You should have 20 to 24. (You need 20 for the cake.)
• To assemble, stir the cream until smooth. Lay 1 crepe on a cake plate. Using an offset spatula, cover with a thin layer of chocolate cream (2 to 3 tablespoons), leaving a 1/4-inch border. Cover with a crepe and repeat to make a stack of 20, with the best-looking crepe on top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
• To serve, top with whipped cream, nuts and dust with cocoa.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT TORTE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream and coffee. Beat just until combined., Pour into 2 greased and floured 6-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a small saucepan, melt chocolate with cream and sugar over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat; whisk in Nutella. Transfer to a small bowl; cover and refrigerate until frosting reaches spreading consistency, stirring occasionally. , Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Garnish with chocolate curls and hazelnuts if desired.