TORTA ALLE NOCCIOLE E CIOCCOLATO
CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUT CAKE
When this recipe first appeared in my book Divine Desserts, we made the most terrible mix-up with the instructions (of course, when I say ‘we’, the fault lay firmly at the feet of the junior editor). Instead of reading ‘microwave for 30 seconds’ it read ‘microwave for 30 minutes’, meaning that many of my readers were setting off smoke alarms and wasting perfectly good organic chocolate. Naturally, we published a correction in the second edition but this didn’t stop some opportunists attempting to sue me for all sorts of imagined ill effects, from cracked bowls to post-traumatic stress disorder. Needless to say, we’ve double-checked the instructions this time.
400 G HAZELNUTS
400 G DARK CHOCOLATE
400 G UNSALTED BUTTER, SOFTENED,AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
300 G CASTER SUGAR
PINCH OF SALT
10 ORGANIC EGGS
1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Place the hazelnuts in a frying pan and roast them over a low heat until they are just starting to colour; take care not to burn them. To remove the skins, put the hazelnuts in a clean tea towel, fold the towel over and rub between your hands. Place the nuts in a food processor and pulse to coarsely grind.
3. Place the chocolate in a double-boiler and let it melt. Remove and allow to cool slightly.
4. In a bowl, beat the soft butter with the sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate, blending well.
5. Add 1 egg at a time to the mixture until all are well combined. Gently fold in the ground hazelnuts.
6. Pour the mixture into a buttered 28 cm cake tin and bake for about 40 minutes.
7. When cooked, open the oven door and turn off the heat, leaving the cake in the oven to cool for another 30 minutes.
AUDREY’S TIP
If you are going to attempt this cake, it is absolutely essential that you use the finest quality chocolate. If unsure, look for dark, single-plantation, organic varieties with a cocoa butter content of at least 70 per cent. As a rule, anything coated in peanuts or coconut can safely be ruled out.