Every year for my son’s birthday, I make him this cake. Any type of pulverized nut, such as walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds, can be used, and berries or candies can be added as desired for decoration.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 50 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup finely ground hazelnuts
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 ½ ounces creme fraiche
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup strawberries or other berries for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a heart-shaped baking dish or a fluted tube pan.
- Beat butter in a large bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time, and mix in well. Add eggs 1 at a time, and mix well after each addition. Add ground nuts, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and creme fraiche to batter and mix well after each addition.
- Sift flour and baking powder together into a bowl; mix into the batter. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool completely.
- Place chocolate chips in a large bowl. Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the cream boils up to the top of the pan, quickly remove it from the heat and pour it over the chocolate chips in the bowl. Let stand for a minute or two, then stir with a whisk until smooth. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Stir in vanilla extract until well blended. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of ganache and allow to cool at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
- Pour ganache over the cooled cake and allow to dry for a few minutes. Decorate cake with candy or fruit.
- You can use a stand mixer in Step 5, if you prefer. Place chocolate chips in the bowl of the stand mixer and pour hot cream on top before mixing.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 700 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 59 g |
| Cholesterol | 187 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 29 g |
| Sodium | 174 mg |
| Sugars | 38 g |
| Fat | 51 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I used ground almonds instead of nuts and sour cream instead of Creme fraiche. Really good!
heaven to may soul! An absolute fabulous cake!!!!!! My go to on any special occasion. My aunt that’s not a baked goods fan was obsessed with it!! Thank you, Francesca for making my niece’s birthday.