As many of you may know, Quinn and I made the big move to New York in October.
I ended that streak in a big way with this cake. It is over-the-top decadent and worth every calorie. It’s a three layer cake consisting of two white hazelnut cakes and one chocolate hazelnut cake. Between those layers is some lovely Frangelico and a very, very chocolate filling with a bit of a pecan crunch. It’s pretty much everything I love rolled into one dessert.
This is the kind of cake that’s great for the holidays because you can share it with everyone. It’s very rich, and I could only eat a very small slice per sitting. It was just the two of us this year for Thanksgiving, so I was sure to share with some folks in our building. It’s amazing how quickly you can make friends when you start handing out cake!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup hazelnut liqueur, such as Frangelico
- 24 ounces chocolate (semisweet or milk)
- 2 cups (1 pound) unsalted butter
- 1 & 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 3 8-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper or wax paper. Grease paper. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add brown sugar and beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine water and vinegar. Set aside.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, alternating with the water/vinegar mixture. Begin and end with flour mixture. Stir in chopped hazelnuts and vanilla.
Pour one-third of the batter into one of the prepared pans. Repeat with a second pan.
Fold cocoa powder into remaining batter. Pour into third pan.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 19-21 minutes). Cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pans, peel off paper, and allow to cool completely.
To make the chocolate topping:
Brush Frangelico over cake layers.
Melt chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Stir in pecans and vanilla. Cool mixture, stirring occasionally, until it is consistent for spreading (about 45 minutes).
Place one white cake layer on serving plate. Spread a third of topping on top of cake. Do not cover sides. Top with the chocolate cake layer. Spread a third of topping on top of cake. Top with remaining white cake layer. Spread remaining topping on top of cake. Garnish, if desired, with toasted hazelnuts. Allow cake to set several hours before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from My Recipes.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:20 am
Dream come true! Welcome home to NYC and hope you enjoy every minute! Looking forward to hearing more about your NYC escapades, as well as baking escapades!
November 30th, 2010 at 6:31 am
Holy chocolate heaven! Looks so very rich and tempting. Lovely job.
November 30th, 2010 at 7:17 am
Um delicious! This cake looks sublime! We are HUGE chocolate hazelnut fans…Ferrero Rochers stand no chance against us…! This cake looks SO AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!
November 30th, 2010 at 7:50 am
Dang. That looks awesome.
And I’m jealous! Hope you’re loving NYC!
November 30th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Love the look of this cake, rustic and the chocolate layer visible, visible. It really looks awesome and I bet it tastes even better
November 30th, 2010 at 9:12 am
What a beautiful and tasty cake. Hazelnut and chocolate is such a great combination, one of my favorites!!
November 30th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Yum!
November 30th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Welcome to NYC …cake looks killer! Please drop a line if you are looking for a baking buddy in the city.
November 30th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Fun fun! I made a layer cake for Thanksgiving as well but this one looks beyond luscious! Welcome to NYC! If you’re ever looking for someone to trade recipes/eat good food/cook good food with let me know!
November 30th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Fabulous! I’m so glad you are still alive…was starting to wonder what happened. That certainly explains it! Good luck in your new city. Cake looks divine!
November 30th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Oh my my my! That’s just layer after layer of goodness! I’d be your friend too if you handed out this cake!
November 30th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
wow that cake seriously looks sooo yummy. i want to eat it now!
November 30th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Wow que pastel tan ESPECTACULAR……. seguro y esta delicioso!!
Besos
GarEli
Mexico
December 1st, 2010 at 3:02 am
Decadent indeed!
December 1st, 2010 at 9:44 am
Looks so amazingly delicious, my mouth is watering. Must try.
December 1st, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Great looking cake. Hard to make a moist chocolate cake and this looks perfect. Enjoy yourself.
Plan B
December 1st, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Drenched in chocolate really caught my eye! I just want to stick my finger in that icing!
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:28 am
Oh my, that looks so delicious! Like, ridiuclously.
December 5th, 2010 at 7:25 am
This looks extremely wonderful. This cake will win u the miss popularity award!
December 5th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Hope you’ll be abundantly blessed in your new home. Your cake looks amazing! Love, love, love hazelnuts thanks for sharing.
December 6th, 2010 at 3:36 am
What a gorgeous cake! Enjoy your new home!
December 6th, 2010 at 8:21 am
looks amazing! I recently moved to NYC too and document my baking exploits on my blog above.
I need to try this gooey cake, it really does look delish!
December 6th, 2010 at 8:29 am
The cake looks delicious and very chocolaty. Lovely click.
December 6th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
If I told you I was licking my computer screen, would you judge me? – Gary
December 9th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
This looks so scrumptious!
December 11th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Totally decadent, my dear. I would do anything for a piece right now.
December 15th, 2010 at 9:01 am
This looks like absolute heaven!
December 24th, 2010 at 10:13 am
that is just so decadent and perfect, and i can see why its worth every calorie. wow
December 25th, 2010 at 7:40 am
NY sounds like so much fun!! I would maybe make that cake into cupcakes for portion control..or I might eat the whole thing
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
December 28th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
OMG this looks good
December 30th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Hope New York is treating you well! This look delicious! I never liked chocolate cake when I was younger. What I’ve realized over the years is that it wasn’t chocolate cake that I didn’t like, but it was the store-bought chocolate cake I had at birthday parties.
I’ve been making chocolate cakes lately and grow fonder of them every time!
Jess
http://www.livininthekitchen.wordpress.com
January 11th, 2011 at 3:00 am
Ooohhhh looks so mouth watering! I will surely go back baking and will try this recipe!
February 21st, 2011 at 4:05 am
Wow! That looks incredible. I’ve only just discovered your blog, but am really excited about all the recipes and can’t wait to give some a whirl.
March 25th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
This looks so good, it’s unreal. I love how you used a white cake and a chocolate cake! It’s so pretty:)