Nigella’s Nutella Cake (Gluten Free)
Yesterday was my boyfriend’s birthday so I decided to make this fantastic, rich nutella cake. I found the recipe few months ago on the cooking godess Nigella Lawson’s page and I was just waiting for a perfect opportunity to make it. I’m guessing birthday is a quite good opportunity 
They cake is very rich with a strong chocolate flavor and even though it is gluten free (flourless), it’s far from healthy. But cakes are not supposed to be healthy and once a while everyone needs to indulge a bit. I know some nutritionists are very strict about the diet but I am not. I won’t say “no” to a piece of cake on an occasion.
The cake was great and I followed Nigella’s recipe however I did some adjustments. Nigella only uses unsweetened dark chocolate and no sugar at all (except already sweet Nutella of course), but to me it was way too bitter with a pure dark chocolate (I had to add a lot of sugar) so I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate instead and don’t worry about possible bitterness.
Another thing is that I was not able to use the whole frosting, only half of it. I’m giving here amounts from Nigella’s original recipe but you’ll probably be fine if you’ll cut ingredients for the glaze in half. Also the cooking time is 40 min but it took me 50-55 min for the cake to be done so rather than sticking to exactly 40 min, check doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out dry and the cake starts sticking out from the edges, it should be ready.
Ingredients:
Cake:
6 large eggs, separated
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup softened, unsalted butter
1 x 13 oz Nutella jar
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
4 oz melted semi-sweet chocolate
9 inch round cake tin
Topping:
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup hazelnuts
- Start with separating the eggs. Beat the softened butter with the egg yolks, nutella and cooled melted chocolate.
- Mix in ground hazelnuts.
- In a separate clean bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.
- Gently beat in (in parts) the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
- Pour into buttered 9 inch round cake tin and bake 40-50 min in the oven preheated to 350 degrees F. Check doneness with a toothpick inserted in the middle. Dry toothpick means the cake is ready.
- Gently remove from the tin and let it cool. The top of the cake will fall a little bit.
- Now prepare the topping. Roast whole hazelnuts on a dry skillet. Make sure not to burn them. Wrap hot hazelnuts in a clean kitchen cloth and rub them vigorously to peel the skin.
- Now heat heavy cream in a pot and melt chocolate in it.
- When both cake and glaze have cooled a bit, pour glaze all over the top of the cake. Decorate with cooled, roasted hazelnuts.
