Italian cuisine · Breakfast & Eggs

Torta di Nocciole Piemontese

Piedmontese hazelnut cake made entirely without flour, crisp outside and moist and nutty inside.

Ingredients · for 8 servings

• 250 g hazelnuts
• 180 g sugar
• 150 g soft butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 50 g dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Toast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet at 170°C for 10 min., rub together in a kitchen towel to loosen the skins, and let cool completely.
2. Finely grind the nuts with 2 tbsp of the sugar in a food processor – the sugar keeps them from turning into a paste; butter a 24 cm springform pan.
3. Beat the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy for 6–8 min., then stir in the egg yolks one at a time and add the vanilla extract.
4. Fold in the ground nuts with the baking powder and the coarsely chopped chocolate; beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff and fold in gently in two batches.
5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 170°C for 35–40 min. until the surface is firm and cracked but the center still slightly moist.
6. Let the cake cool completely in the pan, only then release it, and serve dusted with powdered sugar in narrow slices.