The very first flourless cake that I ever made was a hazelnut cake.  It may have been flourless but it was still full of fat and sugar.  While it was good it wasn’t great, there seemed to be something off and I just couldn’t figure out what it was.  Over the years I made the cake a few more times using the same recipe, always producing the same results – good but not great.

So in November, while searching thru my recipe books looking for dessert ideas I came across the recipe for hazelnut cake.  I decided to make a few modifications in the hope of lightening it up and producing the great cake I was dreaming of.  Thankfully the changes worked and I now have a recipe for hazelnut cake that I absolutely love.  Light, moist and delicious this cake can be enjoyed anytime of day.  Paired with a mug of lemon green tea, it is the perfect snack for when you want to take a moment for yourself and breathe.

Hazelnuts and chocolate together is an incredible food pairing, and I was hardly not willing to miss an opportunity to enjoy the two together, so I added dark chocolate chunks to the mix.  This is purely optional and this hazelnut cake is delicious either way.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of hazelnuts

6 large eggs (yolks and whites separated)

1 cup (250ml) of maple syrup

2 tsp of baking soda

1 cup of dark chocolate chunks (optional)

pinch of sea salt or pink Himalayan salt

1 tsp cinnamon

What To Do:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (F)

Line the bottom only of a 9inch spring form pan with parchment paper

In a food processor or blender chop the hazelnuts until 95% finely chopped

Add the maple syrup to the egg yolks and beat until they are a pale yellow

Gently fold in the hazelnuts, chocolate, cinnamon and salt into the yolk mixture

In a separate large mixing bowel beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form

Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture

Pour the batter into the spring form pan

Bake for aprox 50 – 55 minutes (until a cake tester comes out clean)

Cool completely before removing the sides of the pan

Enjoy!

XXS