Coffee cake with hazelnuts

Categories: November

Ingredients

• 225g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 225g golden caster sugar
• 225ml corn oil
• 2 medium eggs, separated
• 75ml buttermilk
• 4 tsp instant espresso coffee powder
• 25g dark chocolate
• 16 whole blanched hazelnuts
• 284ml carton double cream
• 100g mascarpone
• 2 tbsp golden icing sugar, sifted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/fan 160˚C/gas 4. Grease and line the base of 2 × 20cm round sandwich tins with baking paper.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, beat together the oil, egg yolks and buttermilk. Mix together 2 teaspoons of the coffee with 1 tablespoon of boiling water and add to the liquid ingredients. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until thick and paste-like.

4. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then mix a little into the cake mixture to lighten. Carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites. Divide between the tins and bake for 25 minutes, until golden. Cool, then turn out onto a wire rack.

5. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

6. Dip half of each hazelnut in the melted chocolate and leave to set on a piece of baking paper.

7. Beat the cream, mascarpone, icing sugar and remaining coffee until smooth. Spread 1 cake with half the coffee cream. Sandwich the two cake halves together. Spread the remaining coffee cream on top and decorate with the chocolate-coated hazelnuts.

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