What can be done with nut meal and other flours beside the standard white one in the realm of cakes that we do like to be light? And in this season, summery.
What a better opportunity to explore and make a new cake than for a friend’s birthday. This cake is vibrant, first off, and a pleasure to be around. It is also healthy and tasty in a deep way and not just sweet. Like my friend.
For the Cake
- 1 cup (125g) freshly ground hazelnut meal
- 1/2 cup (50g) semolina flour
- 1/2 cup (50g) rye flour
- 1/2 cup (75g) turbinado sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) macademia nut oil
- 1/2 cup (120g) well-stirred tahini
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole fat greek yogurt
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, natural or Dutch-process
Chocolate Ganache / Fruit Glaze
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips melted
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (whip the rest of the pint for topping)
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 T of turbinado sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 pint fresh strawberries
- 1/2 cup pitted fresh cherries
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
For the cake
- Grind 125 g of roasted hazelnuts in blender.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC.) Butter thoroughly a 10-cup (about 23cm) bundt pan, dust with the hazelnut meal, then put hazelnut meal in a medium bowl
- Whisk together with flours, baking powder, and salt. Add to the blender jar the oil, tahini, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Mix just until smooth, but don’t overmix. Place half of the batter into a smaller bowl and add the cocoa powder to the blender and mix briefly.
- In alternating, generous spoonfuls, layer the batters into the pan. Use a butter knife to swirl the two batters slightly, but don’t overdo it. Bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then invert it onto a wire cooling rack and wait for the cake pan to remove itself the cake pan. Let cool completely before glazing.
For the ganache, finish
- Melt chocolate on 1 on induction stove, with the cream.
- In another small saucepan boil the water and sugar with the cinnamon stick until halved. Let cool.
- Cut the fruits, and pour warm, but not hot simple syrup over them and refrigerate until serving. You can whip cream for serving and chill it as well.
- Drizzle the ganache over the cake and refrigerate. Serve with the fruit and cream.
