Cook this: 'Deliciously flourless' chocolate hazelnut cake from Hazana

Our cookbook of the week is Hazana: Jewish Vegetarian Cooking by acclaimed food writer Paola Gavin. Over the next four days, we’ll feature recipes from the book and an interview with its author.

To try another recipe from the book, check out: artichoke salad with fennel and harissa; and eggplant and white cheese fritada.

Cakes and sweets made with nuts – ground almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts – are plentiful throughout the Jewish diaspora.

Greek koopeta (nut candy), Italian scodelline (almond custard), and German and Austrian nusstorten (nut cakes) are several tasty examples in Paola Gavin’s latest cookbook, Hazana.

This “deliciously flourless chocolate cake” is German in origin, and a favourite during the Jewish spring festival. It’s commonly frosted with chocolate buttercream icing, Gavin says, but it’s equally delicious with a dollop of whipped cream instead.

“It doesn’t have a huge amount of sugar. It’s very light and it’s perfect for Passover or any time of year,” she adds. “It just looks so pretty. I love it.”

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE

Schokolade-haselnusskuchen
Serves: 8

Hazana by Paola Gavin — In her fourth cookbook, Hazana, Gavin explores the richness of Jewish vegetarian cuisine.Quadrille Publishing / c/o Chronicle Books

Butter, for greasing
Sugar or potato flour, for dusting
1 cup (250 mL) hazelnuts
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
125 g (4 oz) dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into squares
5 large eggs, separated
1 whole egg
3/4 cup (175 mL) superfine sugar

For the icing:
125 g (4 oz) dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into squares
2 tbsp (30 mL) rum or hazelnut liqueur
3 1/2 tbsp (52 mL) butter

Step 1

Butter a 23-cm (9-in) springform cake tin and dust with sugar or potato flour.

Step 2

Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in a preheated 160°C (320°F) oven for 10–12 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring from time so they roast evenly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Turn the oven up to 180°C (350°F). Process the toasted nuts in a blender or food processor until finely ground. Stir in the baking powder. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, taking care not to let the bowl touch the water, then set aside to cool slightly.

Step 3

Beat the egg yolks and egg with half of the sugar until light and creamy. Add the melted chocolate and mix well, then fold in the ground hazelnuts. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar to stiff peaks, them gently fold into the chocolate mixture.

Step 4

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 40–45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, unclip the tin and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Step 5

To make the icing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, taking care not to let the bowl touch the water. Stir in the rum, then remove from the heat and beat in the butter, a little at a time, until the icing is smooth and creamy. When the icing is cool but not set, spread over the cake.

Recipe excerpted from Hazana: Jewish Vegetarian Cooking by Paola Gavin, published by Quadrille Publishing c/o Chronicle Books.

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