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...

Almond semolina cake

Here I go with another almond recipe.  I can never try too many because I just love almonds!  I particularly love pastries with nuts.  This is one of those cakes that I can enjoy any day (and any time) and never get sick of; it's not too sweet and just totally delicious. That's why you see me lingering on this theme, making many renditions of this cake.  This one is special with a bit of semolina flour and a slightly jazzed-up topping.

It was worth running around a few supermarkets to find the semolina flour I needed for this cake. I've never baked with semolina before though we used it once in a cooking class to make pasta. There's regular all-purpose flour in this cake but the addition of semolina gives it a unique little twist that I liked.  I think I expected a gritter texture, like cornmeal or even almond meal, but finely-ground semolina blended right in yet added a very subtle bit of texture and a hint of nuttiness that works really well with almonds (and other nuts, I'd imagine).

Like any surefire great almond cake, this one has some almond paste (another one of my favorite things) tucked inside.  It's moist and so fragrant and flavorful.  The topping is fun and delicious at the same time.  Instead of just scattering sliced almond on top before baking (though nothing wrong with that!), you kick it up a notch by stirring it with a little bit of frothy egg whites and brown sugar. That produces an extra crunchy, sweet topping that's pretty addictive!

This cake is also light and fluffy thanks to folding separately whipped egg whites into the batter.  It reminded me of one of our all-time favorite treats on earth - tri-color cookies, which is made the same way with whipped whites folded into the batter.  When we had this cake for dessert one night, my 8-year old said "mmm...it tastes just like tri-color cookies!"  I couldn't help but beam with pride...maybe he does take after his mama just a little!

I'm really happy I bought that 6-inch round cake pan with the removable bottom.  I used it to scale down the original recipe and make a small version.  It's just right for my small family and gives me the chance to try out more recipes and play more often in the kitchen.  That said, my little guy honestly said he loves this cake and wish there was more!  (Though in all fairness, there are obviously plenty of times when he tells me he doesn't like something - he can be quite blunt.)