Nutella Cake..... Oh my!

Flourless chocolate cake is one of my absolute favorite decadent, indulgent desserts.  And once you realize how simple they are to make at home you'll wonder why you've never made one before.  They are dense and dark.... and just BEG for a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

What could make this simple dessert better...NUTELLA!  What is Nutella, you ask?!?!  I highly recommend that you march right down to the nearest grocer and grab a jar and a spoon.  The chocolate-hazelnut spread can be found with the peanut butter and it wonderful on just about anything.

I made this recipe for a work pot luck and I must say, the addition of fine ground nuts and nutella made it so unbelievably yummy if you're a fan of rich chocolate desserts.

Nutella Cake with Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache

I could not find hazelnuts, so I used ground almonds and garnished the cake with white chocolate snowflakes sprinkled with decorator's sugar.


Adapted from Nigella Lawson

Cake:

6 large eggs, separated

pinch salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 13-ounce container Nutellla

1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Ganache:

4 ounces whole hazelnuts

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter a 9-inch springform pan. In a large bowl (preferably metal), whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff. In another bowl, cream the butter and Nutella, then add the 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 thoroughly. 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.

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet, or toaster oven shaking them around frequently. Do it for about 4 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.

Chop chocolate, and add to sauce pan with heavy cream 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.