birthday cake

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Simple Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake: Easy Gluten Free – Helen Tzouganatos

Easy Gluten Free by Helen Tzouganatos

Published by Plum

RRP $39.99,

Photography by Jeremy Simons

 

This cake is so easy to make and so delicious – I think hazelnut meal is my new favourite ingredient. It was our daughters birthday, I made the cake and grandson decorated – with ALL the decorations.  It was delicious.

“When I was growing up I loved smearing chocolate hazelnut spread on white bread as an afternoon treat.
Thankfully supermarkets now stock organic dairy-free chocolate hazelnut spreads that are much tastier
and cleaner than the leading brands. Hazelnut meal is fantastic for baking because it has a buttery, nutty
flavour and keeps cakes incredibly moist without the need for added fat. This cake is super quick to whip
up and the two-ingredient chocolate ganache couldn’t be easier.” p258

 

6 eggs
310 g (1 1/3 cups) caster sugar
330 g (3 cups) hazelnut meal (see Note)
2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
pinch of sea salt flakes
chopped hazelnuts, to decorate

GANACHE
150 g (¾ cup) dairy-free chocolate
hazelnut spread
60 ml (¼ cup) coconut cream

Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan-forced). Grease and line a 20 cm
round cake tin with baking paper.
Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar for 3 minutes or until
light and fluffy. Add the hazelnut meal, baking powder and salt and
mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes or until
a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for
10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the ganache, place the chocolate hazelnut spread and
coconut cream in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until
smooth and well combined.
Pour the ganache over the cooled cake. Using a spatula, spread it
right to the edge and smooth the surface, allowing a little ganache to
drizzle down the side of the cake. Decorate with chopped hazelnuts,
then cut into slices and serve. Leftover cake will keep in an airtight
container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

NOTE
• You can replace the hazelnut meal with almond meal if you like. It will
have a finer texture and a milder flavour but will be just as delicious.

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#MondayMunchies: Dirty Chocolate Cake – The Dirty Dishes – Isaac Carew


‘The Dirty Dishes: 100 Fast and Delicious Recipes by Isaac Carew, Published by Bluebird, RRP $39.99’ 

 

Dirty chocolate cake
“This is one of my signature dishes: a really basic chocolate cake recipe that’s extra indulgent thanks to
all of the chocolate sauce and delicious walnuts. It also looks really elegant with raspberry dust. This is
a special take on a chocolate cake I’ve had on every single birthday since I was born – although this
one hasn’t got Smarties dotted on the top highlighting my age!” p208

serves 8
100g unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
2 large eggs
3 tbsp cocoa powder
65g plain flour
seeds of 1 vanilla pod
80g milled walnuts
big handful of fresh raspberries
15g freeze-dried raspberry dust or whole freeze-dried raspberries

For the icing
70g unsalted butter, softened
200g milk chocolate
100g icing sugar
100ml double cream

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
20cm (8in) cake tin
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan 160℃/gas mark 4). Grease the cake tin and line with baking
parchment, then grease the parchment on the sides of the tin.

Put a small saucepan of water on to boil. Set a heatproof bowl on top, then add the butter and allow to
melt. Remove from the heat and add the sugar and eggs, then whisk together.

Add the cocoa powder, flour, vanilla and milled walnuts. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into the lined cake tin and bake for 15–20 minutes. Once the cake has baked and
cooled, make the icing.

To make the icing, set another heatproof bowl over the boiling water in the pan and add the butter
and chocolate. Let them melt together, then add the icing sugar and double cream. Whisk until
smooth.

Spread the icing over the cake and top with the fresh raspberries and raspberry dust or freeze-dried
raspberries.

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Post Script: Cake Decorating Step By Step – Giovanna Torrico

Cake Decorating Step By Step

Cake Decorating Step By Step

Giovanna Torrico

Photography by Deirdre Rooney

Murdoch Books

ISBN: 9781743366219

 

Description:

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced baker, this book is designed to provide you with all the baking and decorating techniques you’ll need to become a confident and creative cake, cupcake and cookie maker.

 

Simple instructions for gorgeous cakes. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced baker, this book is designed to provide you with all the baking and decorating techniques you’ll need to become a confident and creative cake, cupcake and cookie maker. With easy-to-follow recipes and advice about essential tools, experienced cake decorator Giovanna Torrico guides you through the planning and preparation stages, including baking and icing tips and how to layer and stack a cake. Using stylish designs and handcrafted edible flowers and animals, you can create personalised masterpieces for all occasions. Step-by-step photography enables you to follow the decorating techniques closely to achieve stunning results every time.

 

 

My View:

Have you ever wondered how professional cake makers manage to make their cakes look so desirable, so delicious, and so perfect? I have. I have felt in awe of some of the wonderful decorations and often wondered just how did they achieve such precise and colourful edible art?

 

I am not suggesting that I have instantly become a professional cake decorator but this step by step guide has removed some of the fear of failure and given me confidence to try some of the examples here.  And there are a range of techniques – from simple frostings and icings, to piping, decorating with sugar paste, using moulds and templates, layering, covering and stacking; there is a technique here for all levels of competency.

 

Giovanna Torrico also provides foundation recipes for your baking; biscuits (cookies) cupcakes, lemon and poppy seed, coffee cake, red velvet cake… and more. There are some beautiful layered cakes that will make prefect birthday cakes for a certain grandson J  I can’t wait to try them out.

 

Have you heard of edible glue? What a fantastic product to make decorating easy! And decorating moulds? Yes there are plenty of “tools” to help you achieve a professional finish to your cake decorating. I wish I knew of such things when I was courageously attempting to decorate my children birthday cakes.

 

With the ingredients to hand I have made a delicious coffee and walnut cake with coffee cream. Perfect for afternoon tea, this cake transported me back to a time when shopping in the city was not complete without  stopping at a particular Scandinavian pastry shop for coffee and a slice of mouth-watering cake; so adult! Do you have any special “cake memories”?

 

This book is truly inspiring and there are skills and techniques to suit all levels of decorating confidence.

 

Coffee and walnut cake

Coffee and walnut cake with coffee cream