Rustic hazelnut cake

I've never been to Italy but in my daydreams, I could picture myself out in the countryside, eating a piece of cake like this one on a perfect sunny afternoon...  

Of course, if I was in Italy, there'd be lots of pasta, seafood, pizza, as well as coffee and gelato involved, too.  But focusing on cake, I generally think of low-fuss, rustic cakes when I think of Italy. This particular one is a hazelnut cake, heavy on rich, fragrant, toasted hazelnuts.

It's natural to associate hazelnuts with Italy when the Piedmont region produces what's arguably the best hazelnuts in the world.  And that reminds me that Italy is also the birthplace of gianduja - the magical, irresistible combination of chocolate and hazelnut paste for which I am eternally grateful for!

Since this rustic Italian-style hazelnut cake is so chock full of toasted hazelnuts, my mini 6-inch cake went a long way because the hazelnuts make for a very filling cake.  I made use of some semolina flour since there's some of that, along with cake flour, in this cake.  I actually find that I personally prefer having some gluten to bind cakes like this one together; it makes it just a bit less heavy.  But for the most part, the ground hazelnuts (a full cup in my small cake) are the workhorse providing both the texture and flavor.

Texture-wise, it's gritty, crumbly, and somewhat drier than what we typically think of when we hear "cake".  It's intended to be that way.  I think it just goes naturally with a cup of coffee or espresso on the side.  If you need a bit more moisture or something to balance out the distinct hazelnut flavor (which I personally love), whipped cream or a fruit compote or sauce would be nice.

Do you remember when I mentioned that my son loved that almond semolina cake I made recently?  I made this one right after and that almond cake set expectations high.  In the interest of diversity, disclosure, and maybe some comic relief, I thought I'd tell you that my son hated this cake.  Yes, I said that (he is 8 years old, bare in mind)!  So perhaps this cake isn't a great choice for a child.  From an adult's point of view and as a hazelnut-lover, I enjoyed it, with one problem...the one technical complaint I do have about it is that it turned out too salty! I'm fairly confident I followed the recipe accurately and assuming that, I have to tell you that the salt needs to be dialed down significantly.  I've adjusted the recipe attached accordingly.  Now, if this were still my daydream...the cake would have turned out perfectly and I wouldn't have this problem with the salt, of course...


Recipe:

Rustic Hazelnut Cake
Adapted from the Piedmontese Hazelnut Cake recipe in The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

- Makes one 9-inch round cake (I divided the recipe in half and baked the cake in a 6-inch round pan) - 

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan

1/4 cup semolina flour, plus more for the pan

2 cups hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and cooled

1/2 cup cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (dialed way down from 1 teaspoon in the original recipe since I found the cake much too salty using the original amount)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons olive oil

Confectioners' sugar, to dust cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 9-inch cake pan.  Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.  Butter the paper and dust the pan with some semolina, shaking out excess.  Put the pan in the refrigerator to set the coating while you continue with the recipe.

Put toasted hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Be careful not to over do it or it could turn into a paste.

In a small bowl, whisk together cake flour, the 1/4 cup of semolina, baking powder and salt.

Place butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a standmixer and cream the mixture together for a few minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.  Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary.  Add ground hazelnuts and beat briefly to combine.

Remove bowl from mixer and add the dry ingredients, folding together gently with a rubber spatula.  Fold in vanilla extract and olive oil, then scrape batter (it will be thick like a paste) into prepared cake pan, smoothing out the top. 

Bake cake until top is browned and a cake tester inserted into the cake is mostly dry with just a few moist crumbs attached, approximately 30 – 35 minutes [roughly 25 minutes for a 6-inch cake]. Remove pan from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes.  Run a small knife around the cake and turn the cake out, removing parchment paper, and place onto a serving platter.  Cake can be served warm or cooled to room temperature.  Dust confectioners' sugar over cooled cake or over individual slices, if serving warm.