Little Lemon Hazelnut Cakes

joythebaker — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:46:29 +0000

I have downright baffled myself.

I may have mentioned that I’m moving this week. Moving is… horrifying. Yes, I’m being dramatic. Please indulge me.

Among the things that I found under my bed and in the dark recesses of my closet as I’ve been cleaning and packing are:

eight kitten stuffed animals.

one medium sized bunny stuffed animal.

three puppy stuffed animals.

….. WWWHHHHHYYYY?

one baby sock…. A. Baby. Sock. I have no baby. Seriously… What the heck is going on here!?

a tiny rhinestone turtle toe ring. Really?

one sweater that gives my arms a rash. I found out the hard way.

one wooden bobble head turtle toy. Why so many turtles hiding in my house?

and… a rock. Because… yea. A rock.

Take these Little Lemon Hazelnut Cakes as a token of my love, affection, and dwindling sanity.

This recipe is like a secret weapon. It’s super adaptable and always perfectly moist. At its root, the cake is an easy buttermilk and oil cake that comes together with two bowls and a whisk. I used hazelnut oil, but almond oil, walnut oil, or olive oil also work beautifully. Also feel free to add any sort of citrus zest you like. This recipe makes twelve tender and darling little cakes. Go on. Bake em. I’ll just be over here in the corner losing my ever loving mind. Don’t mind me.

Little Lemon Hazelnut Cakes

makes 12 little (cup)cakes

recipe adapted ever so slightly from Jun Tan

Print this Recipe!

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup hazelnut oil

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place a rack in the center of the oven. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together hazelnut oil, buttermilk, egg, vinegar, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once. Whisk together until just combined and no lumps remain. Divide between twelve cupcake cups and bake for 18-22 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of one of the little cakes comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan to cool completely and top with an easy lemon glaze.

Lemon glaze is simple 1 heaping cup of powdered sugar mixed with the juice of half a lemon and a dash of water or milk to reach your desired consistency.

Mocha Hazelnut Marble Cake

joythebaker — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:29:13 +0000

I need to talk to you about the holidays, about the parties, about the dress, and about the cocktails. I need to talk to you about how cake, how the right cake can make it all better.

I had the perfect holiday dress all picked out. This dress would get me through thick and thin, casual and dressy. It was a simple and sassy black dress. I could do it up with colorful tights and heels or tone it down with a cardigan and scarf. This dress could go from holiday family function to night on the town…

All was fine and good until the dress actually went out on the town. Correction- I went out on the town and… well… the dress didn’t survive.

Let’s just say, that after several glasses of wine, and various other spirits, I found myself (and my dress) rolling down a rainy concrete hill. Don’t worry. I wasn’t hurt. I was protected by a hearty belly full of booze and the three friends I rolled down the hill with. It was hilarious. Memories were made. Dresses were… torn.

I now know that holiday parties are dangerous. That lesson came at a steep price: one helluva hangover and one tragically torn dress.

With my holiday dress out of commission, I was in a serious bind this weekend. Yea… the “what am I going to wear!?” bind. I decided to not sweat it. I decided that if I waltzed into a party with a gorgeous cake, not a soul would be worried about what I was wearing…

Guess what?

I was totally right.

This cake saved me from wardrobe worries. I threw on jeans, a top and my favorite owl necklace and made an entrance proudly holding this cake in front of me.

The first thing I heard as I made my way in: “Joy is hear with cake!” and then came the hugs. Success!

Next year… I dunno… maybe I’ll buy two holiday dresses and use this cake for backup.

Mocha Hazelnut Marble Cake with Mocha Sour Cream Ganache

adapted from Dorie Greenspan

Print this Recipe!

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, finely ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
9 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature, divided use
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup coffee (hot or cold)
1 teaspoon instant coffee, finely ground (or instant espresso powder)
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk, room temperature

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 12 cup Bundt pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Don’t place the pan on a baking sheet – you want the oven’s heat to circulate through the Bundt’s inner tube.

I toasted my whole hazelnuts in a 350 degree F oven for about 12-15 minutes or until they were fragrant. Once cool, I ground them until fine in my food processor.

Whisk together the flour, ground hazelnuts, baking powder and salt.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Put 2 tablespoons of the butter, cut into 4 pieces, into the bowl, along with the chocolate, coffee and instant coffee. Heat the mixture, stirring often, until the butter and chocolate are melted and everything is smooth and creamy – keep the heat low so that the butter and chocolate don’t separate. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the remaining 2 sticks butter and the sugar at medium speed for about 3 minutes – you’ll have a thick paste; this won’t be light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. The mixture should look smooth and satiny. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients and the milk alternately, adding the dry mixture in 3 portions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients).

Scrape a little less than half the batter into the bowl with the melted chocolate and, using a rubber spatula, stir to blend thoroughly.

If you want to go for the gingko pattern, scrape all of the white batter into the pan and top with the chocolate and marble it minimally. If you want a more marbled pattern, alternate spoonfuls of the light and dark batter in the pan. When all the batter is in the pan, swirl a table knife sparingly through the batter to marble them.

Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the Bundt pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool the cake completely on the rack.

Mocha Sour Cream Glaze

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup brewed coffee, at room temperature

Melt chocolate pieces in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until completely melted. Remove bowl from the double boiler situation.

Stir sour cream into the melted chocolate.

Add corn syrup and vanilla and continue to stir.

Slowly add the brewed coffee bit by bit, stirring to incorporate.

This will be a thick glaze. If you would like it much thinner, you can always add more corn syrup and coffee. This glaze will thicken slightly as it cools.

Spread onto the cooled Mocha Hazelnut Bundt Cake.

Joy the Baker » hazelnut

Little Lemon Hazelnut Cakes

Mocha Hazelnut Marble Cake