Chocolate Hazelnut Praline Cake

A delicious and most unusual rich, dessert cake from the repertoire of my old friend Atty, now passed away. Yes, It does require a bit of extra work making the simple praline, but trust me, it is well worth it. The cake improves with keeping, so please make it a couple of days before using! Not easy, with those wonderful aromas. You can leave it plain or give a light dusting of icing sugar, but I made a small amount of chocolate butter icing and chopped even more hazelnuts over the top. Wow, such a wonderful cake.

You will need a 10” spring form cake tin, lined and pre heat your fan oven to 160C

The praline:

4 oz granulated sugar

4 oz hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Place the above in a heavy medium sized pan over a low heat and allow to melt without stirring. This will take some time. Now increase the heat and cook until the mixture turns a rich brown, shaking the pan now and then, so the nuts do not stick. Have handy a clean, very lightly oiled baking sheet and tip the praline onto the sheet in a thin layer and allow to cool and go brittle. When cold, place into a strong poly bag and bash it with a rolling pin until it is, more or less, a fine powder. Set aside for a mo.

4 oz softened butter

7 oz good quality chocolate

4 eggs separated

2 tablespoons caster sugar

2 oz SR flour

In a mixing bowl, melt the butter with the chocolate [in a microwave is fine - or over a pan of simmering water] then beat until really smooth. Whisk the egg whites until you have stuff peaks. Whisk the egg yolks with the caster until pale and fluffy. Fold the praline into the chocolate mixture, then carefully add the eggs and flour, and lastly fold in the egg whites. 

Tip into your lined cake tin and bake for about 30 mins. Until the edges have shrunk back and springy to the touch. Leave in the tin for 10-15 mins then cool on a rack.

Absolutely well worth the extra effort. Enjoy.