Every year, I let Quinn pick his birthday dessert. Now, when I say that, what I actually mean is that I spend a good bit of time asking lots of questions. A cake or something else? Chocolate? Caramel? Cheesecake? Any idea at all what you’d like? Then, using the bits of information I’m given here and there, I pick out several recipes and let him choose one.
This year’s choice is from one of my favorite baking books, How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson. It’s actually called Torta Alla Gianduia. That seemed a bit much to me, so I went with the much simpler name.
It’s really quite a simple cake to make. It is one of those rare recipes that looks impressive without taking days to make while making you consider giving up baking once and for all. I only had two issues with the recipe. The first is just a technical problem. The Nutella in my grocery store comes in a 13 ounce jar, not 14 ounces. Luckily, I had an opened jar in the pantry, so I added an extra dollop. Secondly, be aware that the whisking portion of the icing recipe is beyond tedious. The directions state that the mixture should be whisked until it is “the right consistency.” Not having more than that to go by leaves it open to interpretation. I think I might have liked it to be a bit thicker, but it still worked well enough.
I was tempted to use semi-sweet chocolate instead of bittersweet because of Quinn’s usual chocolate preferences. However, I don’t think it would have been nearly as good. It’s so rich that it seems to lend itself to a special occasion.
This year, I would say Quinn chose his cake rather well. It does bear at least a similarity in flavor to his last birthday cake, but it is hard to beat chocolate and hazelnuts. For all you serious chocolate fans, I urge you to give it a try. If you’re a Nutella fan, too, then I really must insist that you make it as soon as possible.
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March 25th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
This sounds wonderful! I am a huge nutella fan and Jeff loves bittersweet/dark chocolate.
I may have to give this one a try!
March 25th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
It looks so moist! Beautiful pictures. How to be a Domestic Goddess is among my favorite cook books. The damp lemon almond cake is delish, if you have not tried it.
March 25th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
That looks delicious! I’ve had problems with hazelnuts lately. They all seem to taste stale and with all the work that goes into removing the skins, it’s annoying. I think I’m just going to order them pre-skinned.
March 25th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
I love that cookbook; it’s a go-to book for those rich treats.
I love this, haven’t made it…yet.
March 25th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
This looks absolutely divine! That bottom picture makes it look like a super rich brownie with gooey icing… what could be better in a cake?!
March 25th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Wow! That looks wonderful. And I’m a big fan of hazelnuts and chocolate together. Thanks for sharing!
March 25th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
That looks so beautiful and delicious!
Happy Birthday to him!
March 25th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
That looks soo good. Everything you make looks good! I love your site so much, it’s really great!
March 25th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Anna, I like to get blanched hazelnuts. So much easier. Try ohnuts.com or nutsonline.com.
March 25th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
So glad to see another one of your recipes!!! And thanks thanks thanks for sharing this. We’re going to attempt to make one actually…a bit different, but same flavors just the same. Yours looks amazing.
March 25th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
well, i found my bday cake for the year
looks delish!
March 25th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
That looks like the perfect dessert! I just love it!
March 25th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Wow! This looks absolutely delicious! I am drooling just looking at the photos and am inclined to grab a coffee to sip while I drink in its chocolatey essence. Yuuuuummmmm!
March 25th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
This looks like death by chocolate!
March 25th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Just awesome. What a great choice!! Happy belated birthday to Quinn!!
March 25th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
decadent…! Lovely pictures. This made my afternoon!
March 25th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I’m impressed by your hazelnut skinning prowess.
March 25th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Kate, don’t be too impressed. I like to buy them pre-skinned.
Of course, the skins are much easier to remove once the hazelnuts have been toasted.
March 25th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
It’s glorious!
March 26th, 2009 at 4:39 am
Great birthday cake. Nigella’s recipes have yet to fail me
March 26th, 2009 at 5:01 am
Holy cow! This is super impressive. And what a delicious combo. I bet guests would swoon the minute you brought this out. I hope you had more people to share it with than just you and Quinn!
March 26th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Chocolate and Hazelnuts???
’nuff said. I’m in.
March 26th, 2009 at 9:07 am
This looks fantastic and so decadent. I don’t know if I could stop myself from eating the whole thing.
March 26th, 2009 at 9:28 am
I happen to be a HUGE fan of chocolate and hazelnuts (great biscotti from Cafe Fernando, Giada’s ravioli…). So I noted this post in my burner and went back to check out last week’s cake and note it… and I already had!! I should dig through my notes more often. Two new things to bake.
March 26th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Chocolate & hazelnut—is there a more divine combination?
March 26th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
That looks great. Very rich. I wish I had some.
March 26th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I love nutella, and this is the perfect recipe for it. I love the hazelnuts scattered on top – so pretty. Thanks for sharing!
March 27th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Awesome looking cake. Perfect combo, hazelnuts and chocolate!
March 27th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Mmm… anything with Nutella in it sounds good to me! Am definitely going to try this the next time I have something to celebrate.
March 28th, 2009 at 4:28 am
That looks to die for. I missed your posts, thanks for all the great recipes!
March 28th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Looks divine! I am a fan of chocolate and hazelnut
March 28th, 2009 at 11:40 am
i love how rich and moist the cake looks in the last pic. this recipe sounds like a keeper!
March 28th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Very good!! We loved the cake, and I agree that the chocolate you ended up using was perfect, as usual. I am growing very fond of Nutella. “-)
March 30th, 2009 at 10:33 am
that looks like chocolate heaven to me!!
March 30th, 2009 at 11:35 am
I cannot wait to make this! It looks so impressive!
March 31st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
I am a huge Nutella fan and can’t wait to try this myself. Thanks for posting this recipe along with your wonderful photos.
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 am
awesome! that looks divine….and since i love chocolate and nutella, have that book and my birthday is coming up…i’m guessing i might just give it a try:)
April 5th, 2009 at 10:35 am
I’m trying to lose some weight. Stop trying to tempt me.
April 19th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I’m going to check out that book. Thanks for the tip!
April 19th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
i guess this comment is a little late, but wow, that looks amazing
April 21st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
This looks super yummy. I love the hazulnut-chocolate combination. I have a similar recipe too but its a frozen biscuit cake…http://qte-popcornfactory.blogspot.com/2009/03/intensely-chocolate.html
May 4th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Beautiful cake. Just wondering though….I don’t see any sugar listed as a cake ingredient. Is the cake sweet? I don’t think I’ve ever made a cake without adding sugar. Just checking!
May 4th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Lynn, the recipe is correct – no sugar. There is some sugar in the Nutella and the chocolate. Don’t worry, though, because you’ll never miss it.
May 13th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
So funny–my husband requested the exact same cake for his birthday!
http://www.adinnerparty.net/2009/03/chocolate-hazelnut-cake.html
June 15th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
I just found your blog…have to say this looks amazing. Definitely gonna bookmark this!
August 19th, 2009 at 10:01 am
delicious! I can so go for a slice right now!
December 16th, 2009 at 8:06 am
hello, i’m kate and i would like to try your recipe! i’m from hong kong, so i’m not sure about the units used. how many grams is one cup of butter? is there difference between one cup of flour, one cup of butter, one cup of sugar? does all american recipes use the same way to measure??i really like your recipes, especially the cookies and cakes!! i’m going to use this recipe to make a cake for my christmas party, so i’d want to be sure that it’ll be ok.(hopefully) (: thanks.
December 16th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
kate, there are several conversion helpers online. Here’s one: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/gram_calc.htm Good luck!
June 26th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
hi Jennifer, I’ve been drooling over your pictures for months now and finally had the perfect occasion to try your recipe…with a few modifications. I have to tell ya that this cake is to die for!!! It’s so incredibly delicious!!!
I will tell ya though, that I totally suck at getting the skin off hazelnuts. I toasted them and then I put then on a warm, wet towel and rubbed them, creating friction to try to get the skins off. Some came off but others did not. I spent an hour trying to get the skins off so I could get such beautiful hazelnuts like the ones in your picture. I think next time I’ll just use hazelnuts with the skins on them. Either that or try to find some trick to get the skins off easier.
Anyway, thanks so much again for posting such scrumptious pictures and recipes. I love your website!
Cheers! sheila
July 19th, 2011 at 6:27 am
omg this looks like heaven to me chocolate and hazelnut combined means yummy yummy yummy thank you so much for posting this recipe. i really love your site and already bookmarked alote of recipes