Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (with Dulce de Leche)
A fudgy, flourless chocolate cake with toasted hazelnuts and a sunken center filled with dulce de leche and toasted nuts. Gluten-free, no alcohol, freezes well and is perfect for the holidays.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 7 ounces unsalted butter scant 1 cup
- 7 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1 ½ cups skinned and ground toasted hazelnuts or toasted hazelnut flour
- 6 egg whites at room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 6 egg yolks at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar loosely packed
- 1 cup dulce de leche thick caramel sauce or whipped cream, to serve
- ½ cup mixed nuts or hazelnuts lightly toasted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 330ºF (170ºC). To toast the hazelnuts, see Notes below.
- Butter or spray a 9-inch (24cm) round cake pan with a removable bottom and dust with fine bread crumbs, flour or cocoa powder.
- Melt 7 ounces semisweet chocolate and 7 ounces unsalted butter together (just like you do for brownies) in the microwave (15-second spurts, whisking well after each one) or over a double boiler without touching the water. Reserve.
- Have the rest of the ingredients measured and ready. In a large, clean and dry bowl (if using a stand mixer, use the bowl for this part), beat 6 egg whites with a pinch of salt until you have stiff peaks.
- With the same beaters (don’t clean them) and in a separate large bowl, beat 6 egg yolks and 1 cup light brown sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and foamy.
- Fold in 1 ½ cups skinned and ground toasted hazelnuts into the chocolate mixture. Then add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolk mixture, mixing lightly with a spatula.
- Add the egg whites in 3 additions, mixing lightly with a spatula so as not to deflate them much. A few streaks of chocolate here and there are ok.
- Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top cracks and the surface feels quite firm. It will jiggle a bit in the center.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 2 days, well wrapped. This cake can be frozen for up to a month after it has completely cooled.
- Remove carefully onto the serving platter, fill the sunken center with 1 cup dulce de leche (or thick caramel) and top with ½ cup mixed nuts or hazelnuts.
Notes
Toast the hazelnuts at 350°F (180°C) for 10–12 minutes, rub off the skins with a towel, and cool completely. Grind with 2 tablespoons of the measured brown sugar until fine.
When separating the eggs, not a single speck of egg yolk is allowed to get into the whites, so use a small bowl to crack each egg, one at a time.
Pan size: Using the specified pan size is important. If you use a different pan size, you will get a very different final cake. And not necessarily a well-baked one.
This cake was originally made with almonds, so some comments mention them. It still works with the same weight of almond flour.
