Burnt Butter and Hazelnut Cake

Happy Birthday Mum! I took the day off on Friday, to cook a special lunch for my mum and the fam. We had fresh crab rolls and a Mexican seafood feast, it felt good splurging at the fishmonger knowing that lunch would still be less than eating out, so I picked up massive tiger prawns and juicy monkfish.
I wanted to make Mum a cake, but she's not keen on buttercream or sponge much so I had a flick through April's new book 'Decorated' and had my eyes fixed on her Burnt Butter Hazelnut cake with FRANGELICO, only my favourite liqueur.

Mum thought I had made her a massive cinnamon bun, as I didn't have a bundt tin, well I love cinnamon buns so, no offense taken. The cake is simply delicious, rich and nutty. I served it with creme fraiche, berries and or stewed pear. Thumbs up from us. I was lukcy enough to win April's book on instagram, but it's over on Amazon, and if you want to try your hand at some beautifully decorated cakes, it's a must have and everything is broken down in simple steps. Next on my list of things to try is her crystalised rosemary.

From 'Decorated' by April Carter (Hardie Grant, £20.00) Photography: Danielle Wood 

Burnt Butter Hazelnut Cake
The burnt butter in this cake contributes to the nutty flavour of the
toasted hazelnuts. Toasting nuts before baking with them is a great way to bring out their flavour. The rounded top that the bundt tin gives this cake is perfect for drizzling icing over and the pretty details mean that you don’t need to do too much in the way of decorating.
for the cake:
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250 g (9 oz) unsalted butter
225 g (8 oz/scant 21⁄2 cups) soft light brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for grinding the nuts
125 g (41⁄2 oz/scant cup) blanched hazelnuts
175 g (6 oz/scant 11⁄2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour 31⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
5 medium eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the candied hazelnuts:
150 g (5 oz/2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar 300 ml (10 fl oz) water
50 g (2 oz/1/3 cup) blanched hazelnuts
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for the icing:
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250 g (9 oz/2 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar 2–3 tablespoons Frangelico hazelnut liqueur (optional) 25 g (1 oz) unsalted butter
equipment \ 20 cm (8 inch) bundt tin or round, deep cake tin \ sugar thermometer
 
 
preheat the oven to 170°C (335°F/Gas 3) and grease the bundt or cake tin. Melt the butter over a medium heat and simmer until it turns a deep golden brown and starts to smell nutty. Pass the melted butter through a sieve into a clean bowl and stir in the sugar. Set aside to cool.
Spread the hazelnuts for the cake out on to a baking tray and bake in the oven for 5–8 minutes until golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly. Using a
food processor, finely grind the hazelnuts with
2 tablespoons of the soft light brown sugar – avoid over-processing as the mixture will become greasy.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a clean bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the cooled butter mixture and beat to combine. Gradually add the butter mixture to the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Finally, gently fold in the ground hazelnuts.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave the oven on for the candied hazelnuts. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn it out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, make the candied hazelnuts and the icing. To make the candied hazelnuts, gently heat the sugar and water in a medium pan with a
sugar thermometer attached and swirl until the
sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to 121°C (250°F) (this will take up to 10 minutes; remember to keep
an eye on the temperature as it will increase quite quickly towards the end). Meanwhile, spread the hazelnuts out on to a baking tray and bake in the oven for 5–8 minutes until golden brown. Line another baking tray with baking parchment. As soon the sugar syrup has reached 121°C (250°F), turn off the heat and stir in the warm hazelnuts. Keep stirring until the clear syrup coats the nuts and turns crunchy and white.
Tip the hazelnuts onto the prepared baking tray and separate with fork.
To make the icing, beat the icing sugar, hazelnut liqueur or 2–3 tablespoons of water and butter in a bowl until smooth. The icing should be opaque but thin enough to run down the sides of the cake.
To assemble the cake, beat the icing until smooth again. With the cake on the wire rack, drizzle a generous amount of icing over the top. Decorate with the candied hazelnuts and transfer to a cake stand
or plate.