Hazelnut cake with Nutella®
If Piedmont were a season, it would be autumn, because autumn brings the best that nature has to offer to this region: wine, truffles, and hazelnuts. Like other local specialties, Piedmont's PGI hazelnuts are ranked among the best in the world and are an essential ingredient in traditional desserts.
Originally made with the season's surplus hazelnuts, this dessert was a classic for the end-of-year festivities, and before panettone reached tables throughout Italy, it was the culmination of Christmas lunch. From the Langhe and Roero regions, where hazelnut cultivation is concentrated, this cake, with humble origins and traditional peasant homes, has become widespread throughout the region.
As with many traditional Italian recipes, it's difficult to find the original because every valley, every town, and every family has its own—and of course, every grandmother, as well as the most famous pastry chefs, are all convinced theirs is the best! It can be found with or without flour, soft and leavened or flatter and crumbly... there's something for everyone. And creativity is certainly not lacking in Piedmont. Nonconformism and a desire for innovation run through the veins of the Piedmontese: here, radio, cinema, industry, and major entrepreneurial projects were born and developed, giving rise to companies that have shaped Italian history and culture. Much of the Made in Italy label, in every field, is truly Made in Piedmont.
With creativity and innovation, we wanted to reinterpret the classic hazelnut cake, combining it with another Piedmontese pastry staple: Nutella®. We asked Flavio and Chiara, two young people unafraid to take risks, to do it. They chose to live in the mountains and reopen a bakery in Ostana, a small mountain village in the province of Cuneo. Their first in 40 years. Today, they bake sourdough bread, made with locally sourced rye flour, pastries, cornmeal biscuits, cookies, breadsticks, pizza, and, of course, hazelnut cake. Here, in a version perfect for a snack: double the hazelnut content and filled with Nutella®.
Ingredients for a 22 cm diameter cake (for 6/8 people) 350 g of shelled and toasted hazelnuts 150 g of butter 250 g of sugar 100 g of flour 3 eggs a pinch of salt a sachet of baking powder 120 g of Nutella® cocoa 50 g of sanded hazelnuts.
Preparation: Finely chop the hazelnuts and mix them with the sugar, flour, and baking powder. Soften the dough with the lightly beaten egg yolks, melted butter, a pinch of salt, and finally, the beaten egg whites. Knead the mixture gently and place it in a greased and floured baking pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (340°F) for 35-40 minutes. Let it cool and cut the cake into three equally sized discs. Fill the base and spread half of the Nutella® on top. Add another disc and spread the remaining Nutella® on top. Top with the last disc and press lightly to secure the cake. Decorate with a dusting of cocoa and a few chopped hazelnuts.