Bake or Break

Hazelnut Cake

View a printable recipe or more photos Quinn's birthday cake this year is a familiar theme: chocolate and hazelnut. That's been the common factor of his birthday dessert for the last couple of years. I'm certainly not complaining because that is one of my favorite flavor combinations.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

View a printable recipe or more photos 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.

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Raspberry Hazelnut Crumble Bars

View a printable recipe or more photos Do you like butter? A lot? Well, look no further. These bars are just for you. This may be the most butter I've ever used in a single recipe. Especially for something made in a small square baking pan. I found this recipe in my "to bake" collection the other day and put it aside to make sooner rather than later. The page was ripped from a magazine, although I'm sad to say I'm not sure which one. From the looks of it, I think it was either Taste of the South or Southern Lady. Considering its Southern origin, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised at the amount of butter. Being a Southern girl myself, I'm certainly no stranger to butter-laden baked goods.

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Sour Cream Hazelnut Bundt Cake

View the original recipe or more photos For years, I had no luck with Cooking Light's recipes. Nothing ever turned out the way I had envisioned. I don't know if they've changed or if I have, but I find myself enjoying their creations more and more. I stopped my subscription to their magazine years ago, but I have renewed and am enjoying it more than ever.

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Chocolate-Glazed Hazelnut Mousse Cake

View the original recipe or more photos Quinn's birthday has lasted all month. Seriously. It started at the first of the month when, after months of waiting out the high-def war, he got a Blu-ray player. Then, we spent a week in New York. Granted, he was there for a conference, but it's New York. And, he got to pick out a new laptop bag at Jack Spade. We got back home the night before his birthday. The next night, we went to one of our favorite semi-local restaurants, and he got another present. Then, this weekend we had the family over for dinner and more presents. And this cake. I let him pick out his birthday dessert every year. Last year's tiramisu cake was delicious, but sort of a pain to make (and keep together). This year, he picked a dessert featuring one of my favorite combinations - chocolate and hazelnuts.

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Hazelnut Blondies

View the original recipe or more photos One of my new favorite “holidays” is World Nutella Day, hosted by Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy. I am a relatively recent Nutella fan, having discovered it a couple of years ago. My love of this delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread was instantaneous, so I am more than [...]

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