Hazelnut chocolate cake: go nuts!

Only two percent of Aussies are eating the recommended amount of nuts (30g) each day. Most of us need to eat six times more nuts than we currently do if we want to reap the associated health benefits. That’s around nine extra kilos of nuts a year! Considering how tasty they are, this sounds like a pretty enjoyable way to improve your wellbeing. As well as boosting your heart health and decreasing your risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes, nuts are also a great way to boost your intake of some key nutrients including vitamin E, iron, magnesium and fibre, as well as antioxidants. While nuts are nice enough on their own, they’re also great to cook with. With that, we give you this delicious hazelnut chocolate cake, courtesy of nutritionist Jacqueline Alwill for Nuts for Life.

Hazelnut chocolate cake with nut butter frosting

Gluten free

Serves 8-10

You’ll need:

For the cake:

125g hazelnut meal
125g dark chocolate
3 eggs
125g coconut oil
125g coconut sugar*

For the frosting:

1 cup (175g) mixed cashews and hazelnuts (skins removed)
⅓ cup coconut cream
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of sea salt
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
½ cup walnuts, lightly crushed for the top

Method:

1. Soak the cashews and hazelnuts in water for 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 160°C (conventional) and grease and line the base of an 18cm diameter round cake tin (springform is best for this).

3. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, place a heat-proof bowl over the top and add the dark chocolate and coconut oil.

4. Melt together, stirring frequently until liquid, then remove from heat.

5. In a large bowl, whisk eggs until creamy then add hazelnut meal, coconut sugar and melted chocolate and mix well.

6. Pour into greased, lined cake tin and bake for 40 minutes in the middle of the oven.

7. While the cake is cooking make the frosting.

8. Drain the nuts, then add to a food processor or blender with coconut cream, maple syrup, vanilla, sea salt and raw cacao powder.

9. Blitz until thick and uniform in texture.

10. Place in the fridge to set while the cake is cooking and cooling.

11. Once cake is cooked, place on wire rack to cool in tin for about 20 minutes, then remove tin and cool completely.

12. Spread icing over the cake, top with extra walnuts and enjoy!

*We’ve used coconut sugar for this recipe, but you could substitute with a sweetener of your choice if that’s not readily available.