Hazelnut Ricotta Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups
blanched hazelnuts
3 ½ TBSP
all-purpose flour
5 ½ OZ
Bitter sweet baking chocolate roughly chopped
1 C
almond meal or 1 cup process almond until really fine crumbs
1 C
unsalted butter, at room temperature, roughly cubed, plus extra for greasing
1 ¼ C
granulated sugar
6 LG
eggs, whites and yolks separated
1 ½ C
ricotta cheese
2 TSP
vanilla extract
¼ TSP
salt
3 ½ OZ
dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped into 3/4-inch pieces
3 TBSP
granulated sugar
2 ½ TBSP
light corn syrup
⅓ C
water
Vanilla extract
3 TBSP
1/4 tsp
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Lightly grease the sides of a 9” inch spring form pan and place parchment paper on the bottom and also cut 3/4 inch high parchment to place around the edges of the round pan. The cake would rise and you need it. Grease the parchment paper with some butter.
Spread the hazelnuts out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, until they have taken on just a little bit of color. Remove from the oven and set aside until completely cool (if you process them when they are warm, they will turn to an oily paste). Roughly chop 1/3 cup of the cooled nuts (it’s okay if a few remain whole) and set aside—they will be used to garnish—and place the remainder in the bowl of a food processor, along with the flour. Process until fine, then tip into a medium bowl. Cut in very small chunks your chocolate or either process in the food processor and add these to the hazelnuts and flour. Add the almond meal, mix together and set aside; the texture is a bit rustic here, don’t worry.
Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Turn the speed to low, add the chocolate-nut-flour mixture and continue to mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the machine and stir in the ricotta, vanilla extract and salt. Transfer the cake mixture to a separate large bowl and set aside.
in a dry bowl of the electric mixer mix the egg whites. Beat the whites on medium-high speed until stiff, then use a large spatula to fold the egg whites, in two or three batches, into the cake mixture. Scrape the mixture into the pans, filling them to the top of each ring. Bake about 60 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out more or less clean; it might have a few crumbs attached but should not be wet. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Remove the cake from their pan peel away the paper and set aside.
To make the water ganache, place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. Put the sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Stir to combine and, when the sugar has melted, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring gently from time to time. Continue to boil for about 5 minutes, until the color is a pale amber. Remove from the heat and carefully pour in the water and mix well until dissolved. Add the vanilla extract . Remove from the heat and pour over your chocolate and mix well. Add the butter, a couple of cubes at a time, whisking after each addition. Continue until all the butter has been added, whisking to combine until the mix is smooth and shiny.
Spoon the ganache over the cakes, letting it drip down the sides.
For the hazelnut caramel decor, in a heavy sauce pan put in medium high heat a cup of sugar until it turns into an amber color and take out of the heat. Using a tooth pick insert it in the hazelnut and with the help of a spoon pour some of the caramel in order to cover the whole hazelnut and place in a shelf with the caramel dripping down until it sets. The caramel should be a little cool before doing so. So start trying until you get the right consistency.