Chocolate Hazelnut Torte #TheCakeSliceBakers

As the 2022 edition of The Cake Slice Bakers draws to a close, I am happy to be sharing this cake - Chocolate Hazelnut Torte - even though my toffee-covered hazelnuts didn't work out exactly as the recipe described. Oh, well. I used the toffee to make an abstract topper that lovely, just not what I had anticipated. Try, try, try again...

#TheCakeSliceBakers

In this group, we are usually given a selection of three cake recipes. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

This month was a free-bake. We were free to bake something that was assigned that we missed or something we loved so much that we wanted a repeat...or something altogether new to the group. Here's the line-up...

• Best-Ever Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake by All That's Left Are The Crumbs

• Chocolate Hazelnut Torte by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Yellow Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Angel Food Cake by both Karen's Kitchen Stories and by A Little Bit of All Right

• Pineapple Upside-Down Cake by Camille Cooks

• Hot Milk Sponge Cake by My Recipe Reviews

• Sticky Toffee Date Cake by Amandie Bakes

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

I actually made this cake during the year - during its assigned month. I baked, I photographed, I wrote the post, and I forgot to click 'publish.' Yep. It happens. So, I saved it for the free-bake month.

One thing I did love was that her recipe just referred to other recipes in the book. I used the opportunity to make the elements from my favorites as well.

• your favorite chocolate cake recipe, made into three 6-inch layers (I used this batter from my Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes)

• your favorite meringue buttercream

• Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut spread for filling the cake

• crushed praline to fold into the buttercream (recipe below)

• candied hazelnuts for garnish (recipe below)

Crushed Praline

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 2 Tablespoons water

• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

• pinch of salt

• Also needed: a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Combine water, syrup, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium to high heat and let the sugar dissolve without stirring. Allow the mixture to boil until the sugar begins to darken along the edges. When the caramel is evenly amber colored and just beginning to smoke, remove from heat and stir in the chopped hazelnuts. Turn the mixture out onto the prepared baking sheeting and let set up. Once cool, break or crush the praline into crumb-sized pieces to fold into the meringue buttercream.

Candied Hazelnuts

• 18 blanched hazelnuts

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup

• 1/4 cup water

• Also needed: elevated styrofoam, 18 wooden skewers, large bowl filled with ice

Place sugar, syrup and water into a medium saucepan. Heat over medium to high heat and let the sugar dissolve without stirring. Allow the mixture to boil until the sugar begins to darken along the edges. When the caramel is evenly amber colored and just beginning to smoke, remove from heat. Place the saucepan in the large bowl of ice to stop the cooking and aid in the thickening of the caramel.

Stir until it's thick enough to cling to the nuts. Skewer each nut and dip it into the caramel. Try to only cover the nut and not the skewer. Stick the skewer into the side of the styrofoam so that the excess drips downward, forming an inverted spire.

Allow hazelnuts to set-up for at least 30 minutes, but an hour is best. Give the nuts a gentle twist to loosen them from the skewer.

Place a cake layer on your serving platter. Add a smear of Nutella. Repeat until you have stacked all three cake layers. Whip the meringue buttercream until it is lightened and fluffy; fold in the crushed praline. Then frost the sides and the top of the cake. When ready to serve, decorate the cake with the candied hazelnuts.

I already mentioned that the candied pralines didn't work out for m. I think it was too humid the day I made this cake. So, those dramatic spires melted almost immediately. I whipped up more of the caramel and let it set in abstract designs to top the cake.

#TheCakeSliceBakers 2022 Parade

I didn't participate in every month. I think it took me at least four months to locate the book after I purchased it and, then, tidied up for the holiday. But I did manage to share: Hot Chocolate Cake, Summer Plums Cake, Beehive Cake with Hand-Formed Marzipan Bees, Dacquoise with Cream and Berries, as well as the Mod Yule Cake last month.

Looking Forward

Well, this ended up being my last post with The Cake Slice Bakers. Let's chalk it up to a differing view of blogging groups and the flexibility that can exist within them. I wish all the gals well and will be enjoying next year's book on my own. I think I'll start this week. Happy baking, all.