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Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake

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aka how to salvage a failed attempt at making chocolate hazelnut spread.

Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake

I like experimenting in my kitchen, I really do. Sometimes (quite a lot of the time, if I am to be honest!) it doesn’t quite go according to plan.

I had a notion to make some homemade chocolate hazelnut spread recently. Ok, if I’m being completely honest, I had a notion to make some chocolate hazelnut chocolates filling. I wanted to make home made Nutella and fill some dark chocolates made in my super-awesome silicone Day of the Dead Chocolate Mould from Lekue.

Zombie Brain Chocolates

I’d agreed to do a cookery demonstration at a big event coming up, and I was going to impress the audience with my home made chocolate hazelnut spread making skills and then offer everyone a Halloween chocolate filled with the delightful creamy mixture.

The thing is, I’d never tried to make chocolate hazelnut spread before. I’d seen loads of recipes on the internet, so I figured it couldn’t be that hard, right?

Wrong.

The first recipe I tried said that if I had a high speed power blender (which I do!) I could simply add the broken up pieces of dark chocolate to the creamed toasted nut mixture. I did so. The mixture got really, really smokin’ hot, and was resembling nothing like Nutella. It was dry, and crumbly, and when taste tested – it was burnt. Burnt chocolate. Blergh. The whole lot ended up in the bin as it was utterly inedible.

Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake

I left it a few days and then tried slightly adapted another recipe. That recipe called for milk chocolate, but I only had dark chocolate on hand. 85% cocoa solids dark chocolate. Proper, bitter, fair trade dark chocolate.

I used that, and all was going well. I toasted my hazelnuts, rubbed off their crispy skins with a tea towel, blended, pulverised and added the dark chocolate (melted over a pan of barely simmering water first, this time!), and added it to the creamed nuts (which still weren’t creamy, per se, more paste-like than anything).

The recipe said the mixture would be liquid, but would solidify when it reached room temperature. An hour later it was still liquid, and me, being the most impatient person in the world, popped it into the fridge for ten minutes.

It hardened! At this point I was thinking I might actually have succeeded. I spread a bit of the home made Nutella onto some freshly baked banana bread (yum!) and spooned the rest into two small empty Nutella jars and left them on the counter top.

Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake

Come the following day the chocolate hazelnut spread was rock solid. Ok, not rock solid, more like fudge-solid. You could slice it, but there was no way this stuff was going to spread. It was also too bitter. The kids wouldn’t eat it. Even me, with my love of all things dark chocolate, thought it was just too much.

I left those jars sitting on the counter top for several days, glaring at them and the waste of nearly £10’s worth of ingredients – hazelnuts are expensive!

I also backed out of demonstrating at the local event. I’m really quite a shy person. I don’t take selfies, I don’t even like my photograph being taken let alone standing up in front of a crowd and talking to them. When I was studying for my Open University degree I had to do an oral presentation of my research findings in front of my fellow students. I’d worked myself up into such a state worrying about doing this that I was on the cusp of giving up studying, forgetting about the degree and just going home. Worrying about doing this demonstration was causing me a great deal of anxiety. I couldn’t do it. This, my dear readers, is why I will never, ever appear on The Great British Bake Off despite my husband and friends trying to encourage me to apply.

Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake

So, back to the failed chocolate hazelnut spread. It was bugging me, sitting there in the corner of the kitchen, and I was suddenly struck with an idea – why not plonk a whole bunch of butter and icing sugar in it and turn it into frosting?

Success!

I baked my trusty chocolate cake recipe, filled the layers with the new incredibly light and fluffy chocolate hazelnut frosting and decorated the top with some hazelnut brittle using a technique I’d been taught at a cookery class in Paris recently.

Now I’m feeling rather smug and less like a complete baking failure – and there’s cake. Chocolate cake during Chocolate Week. Chocolate cake scoffed in my pjs while watching the first episode in series two of The Returned (the French version). Win.

Have you tried to make homemade Nutella? Did you succeed?

Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake

Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake

A failed attempt at making homemade Nutella is transformed into an indulgent chocolate cake!
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Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 7 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12 people
Author: Elizabeth

Ingredients

For the failed chocolate hazelnut spread

For the chocolate cake

For the hazelnut brittle

For the chocolate hazelnut frosting

Affiliate Links

This recipe card may contain affiliate ingredient and equipment links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Instructions 

For the failed chocolate hazelnut spread

  • Preheat your oven to 180 C /150 C fan and spread the hazelnuts out on a single layer on a large baking tray.
  • Roast for 12 minutes, shaking occasionally, until the skins turn crispy and start falling off.
  • Place the warm hazelnuts on a clean tea towel, fold the towel over and rub the hazelnuts vigorously. Most of the skins will fall off. Try and remove as much of the skin as you can, and leave the hazelnuts to cool.
  • Place the hazelnuts into the jug of a high speed blender and slowly blend for 5-8 minutes until the nuts start to turn into a creamy paste.
  • Break the chocolate into a heat proof bowl suspended over a pan of barely simmering water, and leave to melt, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt to the hazelnuts and blend to combine.
  • Pour in the melted, cooled, chocolate and blend until smooth. You can, at this stage, pour the mixture through a sieve to remove any pieces of hazelnut to make a smoother mixture.
  • Cover with cling film and leave overnight to solidify.

For the chocolate cake

  • Preheat your oven to 190 C/ 170 C fan and grease and line two 8 inch cake tins.
  • Sift the flour, sugars and bicarbonate of soda together in a large bowl.
  • Place the water, cocoa powder and butter together in a small saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the butter has melted. Do not boil. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla.
  • Add the vinegar to the milk to curdle it, and add the milk, the eggs and the melted chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir well to combine.
  • Spoon into the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cake is springy to touch and coming away from the sides of the tin. A skewer, inserted, will come out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the hazelnut brittle

  • Heat the sugar in a non-stick pan over a medium heat, stirring constantly in small slow circles with the handle of a wooden spoon or a chopstick.
  • When the sugar has melted and begins to turn brown, add the hazelnuts and stir well.
  • Pour the mixture out on a silicone baking mat and leave to harden.

For the chocolate hazelnut frosting

  • Spoon the failed chocolate hazelnut spread into a food processor and add the butter (cubed) and icing sugar.
  • Process until thoroughly combined, adding 3 or 4 tablespoons of milk to make a soft consistency.

To assemble

  • Slice each of the cakes horizontally in half. Place the bottom layer on your cake stand and spread with 1/4 of the chocolate hazelnut frosting.
  • Repeat with the remaining layers, finishing with a nice thick layer of chocolate hazelnut frosting.
  • Break the hazelnut brittle into pieces and sprinkle over the top of the cake.
  • Serve!

Environmental Information

Tried this recipe?Mention @TangoRaindrop or tag #elizabethskitchendiary - we'd love to see what you've been making!

LINKING UP WITH A FEW FOOD BLOGGING CHALLENGES
No Waste Food Challenge guest hosted by Veggie Desserts
We Should Cocoa by Tin & Thyme and guest hosted by It’s Not Easy Being Greedy (theme: USA – my tenuous USA link is that this cake is absolutely huge and calorific, like a lot of USA portions?)
Recipe of the Week by A Mummy Too
Simply Eggcellent by Belleau Kitchen
Cake Club by Kerry Cooks

SOME HOMEMADE NUTELLA RECIPES THAT ACTUALLY WORK
Homemade Chocolate Nut Butter by Tinned Tomatoes
Chocolate Almond Butter by Rough Measures (she uses this in her Chocolate Almond Swirl Buns recipe)
How to Make Homemade Nutella by Kerry Cooks

INSPIRATION TO SALVAGE FAILED RECIPES
How to save a cake that’s sunk in the middle by Utterly Scrummy

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Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary uses the Froothie Optimum 9400 blender, and the Froothie Optimum 600 slow juicer to make her juices, soups and smoothies. These are affiliate links, meaning if you buy a blender or juicer through them we will earn a small commission. This is not a paid post and all thoughts and opinions are our own. This post may also contain Amazon affiliate links, which means if you click through and make any purchase – anything at all – via Amazon we will get a small commission and you will be helping to support our family. Thank you! xx

Comments

  5. Sheila Reeves says

    Loved this post – not that I like reading about you failing, but how you turned it around, and that bake looks amazing!! ( I would have probably just eaten the fudge-like mixture not thinking I could create something else with it ;))

    Reply

  6. Kerry at Kerry Cooks says

    This looks so good and I never would have guessed it was born out of a failure! I have made homemade nutella (and it was amazing!) but you don’t add any chocolate, just cocoa. Perhaps you could try that recipe, once you’ve recovered? Thanks for linking up with Cake Club!

    Reply

  7. Johanna GGG says

    great save – I understand how hard a home made nutella can be – I tried it some years ago and had disaster after disaster with it – http://gggiraffe.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/notella-success-amid-my-failures.html These days I am wiser and have realised the nutella has a really low amount of nuts so to make it would mean using far less nuts than seems reasonable for a spread that prides itself on being about nuts. Glad the cake worked but sorry you didn’t do the demonstration (though I understand – I have no desire to speak before a group of people)

    Reply

  8. Camilla says

    Like a pheonix from the ashes Elizabeth, what in incredible cake and so glad all your time and money didn’t go to waste in the end!:-)

    Reply

  9. Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens says

    What a wonderful, hilarious story of recipe attempts gone so very wrong … and then so very right! Some of our beloved recipes have actually come out of kitchen fails, too. And without a doubt, this gloriously decadent cake is anything but a fail! Such a showstopper!

    Reply

  10. Tarat says

    Try and try again, nicely done for your perserverance!! I might have given up but look at the magnificent outcome!!

    Reply

  12. Debi @ Life Currents says

    When I saw this picture I just stopped in my tracks. This is stunning. I’ve pinned it, and man I’d love to eat it! No failures here! This is wonderful!

    Reply

  18. Emily says

    What a nightmare – makes you sad when you put so much hard work into something and it goes wrong. Sounds like you salvaged it though. Looks delightful! x

    Reply

  24. Kate - gluten free alchemist says

    Well done for a perfect save. This cake looks and sounds so good I could plonk my face right in the middle of it and munch! It would also hide my face too….. because like you, I HATE having my photo anywhere (did you notice it has never appeared on my blog? I remain anonymous!).
    As for putting your spread in the fridge…. that made me smile…. how many times have I done similar?! But hey! With the inspiration to turn a potential expensive disaster into a cake like this? Brilliant!!!

    Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      I did notice that there are no photos of you on your website or social media – glad to hear I’m not alone! I’ve got as far as having my avatar being an image of the back of my head! Thanks for your lovely comment and I’m glad to hear you can relate to my experiences! I’m not alone! 😀

      Reply

  27. ana says

    It is great that you managed to turn your cake around it shows how savvy you are in the kitchen and I think it looks fantastic. Particularly when it’s secret ingredient is determination shhh I won’t tell if you won’t!

    Reply

  28. Erica Price says

    Wow! Love the way you turned around something that didn’t quite work out into something wonderful. Sorry to hear you had to pull out of your demonstration. I can understand the nerves. x

    Reply

  31. Tracy says

    Yes, the link to the USA is tenuous but certainly good enough for me – thanks for entering #WeShouldCocoa. Great save with the choccy spread as well – I still need to make my own, but might wait until you have perfected your recipe first :). Your cake looks beautiful anyway – yum!

    Reply

  32. Rachel says

    Great photos, the cake looks glorious!

    I’ve never tried making Nutella – largely down to the point you made about the cost of ingredients! And after reading this I probably never will!

    I totally know how you feel about your anxiety about the cooking demonstration. I got asked to do one a couple of summers ago, at a country show and the stress and anxiety I had before doing it was terrible! I’m totally the same – there is no way on earth I’d do Bake Off or anything like that. I did do the show, and it actually turned out great but I still would be wary of doing another one because I know how worried I get before hand.

    Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      Thanks Rachel, glad you like the look of it! I’m of two minds whether I’ll attempt to ever make it again. There are so many other things that can be done with hazelnuts – that hazelnut brittle, for one! I’m so glad to hear you overcame your anxieties and did the show. I’m sure I’d have a great time doing it too, and it’s the worrying about it in advance that is the worst!

      Reply

  34. Dom says

    well, firstly to the cake… what a stunner! I love how it looks like it’s grinning at you and tempting you to come try a slice. It looks like a naughty child!… secondly to the hazelnut spread… I would never bother making my own when Nutella is so good, sounds like too much effort and then i’d end up with a pot of home-made nutella and i’d probably eat it all…. and thirdly to the backing out of the food demo. I wish you wouldn’t have. Believe it or not I am also quite shy and get very nervous infront of a crowd but I force myself to do it because I think it’s important to stick your neck out in life… you never know where it will take you! Thanks for linking to Simply Eggcellent xx

    Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      I would never have thought you were a shy person Dom! I’ve seen you on the telly! 😀 I know what you mean though. Part of the reason I accepted in the first place was to put myself out of my comfort zone, but my fears triumphed, this time. One step at a time! Glad you like the look of my cake though, and I think you’re right about the Nutella!

      Reply

  35. Sammie says

    This cake looks delicious and I live that you were so honest about the hazelnut spread fail and the cost. It’s so brilliant that you took a failure and made it into a knockout frosting. Fantastic. Sammie

    Reply

  36. kellie@foodtoglow says

    What a way to turn failure into triumph! Just gorgeous. I too have turned down demonstration events, despite being used to teaching and lecturing (but not demo-ing!). I’m nervous about cooking in a place other than my kitchen. Quite right that you cozied up with your beautiful cake!

    Reply

  38. Kacie says

    This looks amazing – the frosting almost looks like it has a golden sheen to it. I recently posted a recipe for a Ferrero Rocher cheesecake on my blog, which was delicious. Chocolate and hazelnut just go so well together!

    Reply

  40. Urvashi says

    So I love that first quote. And I love the look of this cake. I first made chocolate and hazelnut spread in my Magimix vs blender. It was stodgy and lumpy and then all of a sudden it just ” happened”
    I finished the whole batch with half a sourdough. Oops

    Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      I thought it was particularly appropriate for this scenario! I should perhaps keep trying to make chocolate hazelnut spread, but ingredients are just so expensive! I’m not sure the hazelnuts I can get are perhaps too dry too.

      Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      Aw thanks! 🙂 I’ve been struggling with poor light lately (and will continue to do so throughout our long dark winter) so I’m playing with different techniques/styles.

      Reply

  42. Choclette says

    Oh my that looks amazing Elizabeth. So sorry you had to go through so many trials to get there, but hey, cake is a lot easier to make than chocolates. I totally understand you didn’t want to do the cookery demo. I know I could never do anything like that, which is why you won’t see me on TV either. But I bet you’d be a lot better than you think.

    Thanks for sharing this sublime cake with #WeShouldCocoa

    Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      Cake is definitely easier to make than chocolates! I know my limits now, so I won’t agree to do anything public like that again. I don’t like disappointing people.

      Reply

  43. Patty Haxton Anderson says

    I loved your honesty and writing style – and the cake is simply CHOCOLATY GORGEOUS. I also am camera shy – I don’t photograph well. From your writing style I think you would do a fabulous job of public speaking!

    Reply

  44. Kavey says

    You are definitely not alone in the occasional kitchen failure, we have them too, so frustrating. But wow, what an impressive turnaround – the cake looks magnificent!

    Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      That’s how we learn, isn’t it. I learned the hard way not to make chicken stock leaving the half lemon inside the carcass. Such a bitter flavoured stock resulted from the rind! Glad you like the look of my cake. There’s still some left if you fancy a trip up for a slice! 🙂

      Reply

  46. Lilinha Espindula says

    I’ve never tried to make homemade Nutella before, but if I try one day, I will make sure I save your delicious Chocolate hazelnut layer cake – in case the homemade spread doesn’t work! 🙂

    Reply

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