Inside-out Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

On this special day...

I made a nice cake. I received several gifts and bouquets of flowers. I felt like a VIP...and very happy too!

Is it my birthday?

Yes, of course. Happy Birthday to me!

This cake is originally a Hazelnut Mocha Cake and I choose to avoid adding coffee / caffeine in my cake by replacing coffee with more cocoa . I have to admit that there is a significant amount of butter used to make this cake, but honestly, this cake is too good to be missed. Besides, this is specially made for my birthday and all in my mind is just bake, eat and celebrate!

My family and I will be having our holidays in Singapore and Taiwan for the next coming 2-3 weeks, and hope to return soon after this break. See ya.

A nice cake that I've made for myself...

The flowers that I've received...

My yummy slice of cake...

with delicious crumbly coating...Yum!

Here's the recipe from Donna Hay magazine, Oct/Nov 2011 issue
(with my modification in blue)

Serve 6-8

1/3 cup (15g) instant coffee (replaced with extra cocoa powder)
1 tbsp hot water (replaced with extra sour cream)
10 eggs
2 1/2 cup (550g) caster sugar
450g butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cup (300g) plain all purpose flour, sifted
1 cup (100g) hazelnut meal (ground hazelnut), sifted
1/2 cup (50g) Dutch cocoa, sifted
1/3 cup (80g) sour cream

Chocolate ganache
1 cup (250ml) single (pouring) cream
300g dark chocolate, chopped (I use the 70% cocoa one)

Preheat oven to 160°C. Place the coffee and water in a bowl and mix well to form a smooth paste and set aside (I didn't do that).

Place the eggs in a large bowl and using a hand-held mixer (I used a standing mixer), beat for 1 min. Add 1/4 cup (55g) sugar and beat for a further 4 min or until pale and fluffy. Set aside.

Place butter and vanilla in a separate bowl and beat for 1 min. Add the remaining sugar and beat for further 4 min. Add the egg mixture, flour, hazelnut meal, cocoa, baking powder, coffee mixture (I didn't add this) and sour cream and beat until just combined.
Divide the mixture between 2 x 20 cm round lightly greased cake tins lined with non stick baking paper. Bake for 1 hr 10 min or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow cakes to cool in the tin for 10 min before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cakes are baking, make the chocolate ganache. Place cream and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Allow to cool at room temperature.

Increase oven temperature to 200°C (180°C fan forced). trim the tops from the cakes to create a flat surface and cut the tops into pieces. Place the cake pieces on a baking tray and bake for 10 min or until toasted. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Place cake pieces in a food processor and process until fine crumb
(I used a fork to break the cake pieces into coarse crumbs for extra crunch and crumbly texture)

Use a palette knife to spread 1 cake with 1/2 cup ganache and top with remaining cake. Spread the sides of the cake with ganache, reserving enough for the top, and refrigerate for 10 min or until just set. Carefully roll the sides of the cake in the crumbs to coat. Spread the top of the cake with remaining ganache and sprinkle with remaining crumbs.

Note: Using 1/2 of recipe and 2 x 14 cm round cake rings, I bake the cake at 150°C fan forced for 55 min. I'm little surprised that my smaller cake can serve 6-8 too.

Happy Birthday and Happy Baking

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Happy Birthday to me!