Hazelnut-Almond Cake

Courtesy Of
Connie Fairbanks

Italian Cuisine
Desserts

Serves 10 to 12

Recipe Credit: Adapted from Cucina Magazine

Ingredients :

Chef Bio :

Connie Fairbanks, the author of Scratch That™ Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings. Scratch That is written by a home chef and for home chefs. It is organized into 18 seasonal menus with wine pairings,and over 110 color photos from around the world. All recipes are made from scratch with minimal cans, bottles, tubs, and tubes. With attention to graphic design, recipes are easy to follow, and mostly one page. Connie has had several careers in her lifetime: sales management in specialty retailing, sales and marketing for a pharma company, and helped start a medical device company and take it public in the US and European markets. In 1998, she left a successful business career that spanned over 20 years in to pursue her dream as an actor. Since then she has used her talents to be featured in commercials and collaborate on-stage in the thriving theatre scene in Chicago. And, now, as cookbook author and home chef, she’s in another role that she loves. In her spare, she gardens, is a volunteer tutor, sings in a Gospel Choir, and hopes to return to the theatre next year.

Description :

This is a delicious, not-too-sweet way to complete an Italian meal. It is a dense cake that should be served in small slices.

Instructions :

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Prepare an 8-inch round cake pan by spreading about 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil over the bottom of the pan. Scatter flour all over the pan, and shake off the excess.

Rub off the skins of the hazelnuts. Place the nuts and 1/4 cup of the flour in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until very light. Beat in the almond paste. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat after each addition. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber scraper, add the almond extract, and combine.

In a small bowl, mix together the nuts and the remaining 1 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the batter, and mix until just combined. The batter may look curdled, but that is fine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the center of the oven. The cake is done when the cake tester comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then gently transfer it to a simple cake plate. When cool, sift cocoa powder over the top, and decorate the center with several whole hazelnuts.