Dainty hazelnut cake rounds are spread with dark chocolate ganache and a buttercream made with sour cream before topping with apricot preserves and decorating with more of the tangy buttercream.
Apricot-Hazelnut Flourless Cakes
Serves: Makes 14
Ingredients
- 2½ cups hazelnuts, toasted
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 large eggs, separated
- 1½ cups superfine or caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sour Cream Buttercream (recipe follows)
- Bittersweet Ganache (recipe follows)
- ¼ cup apricot preserves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 17×11×1-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper and spray again.
- In a colander, shake toasted hazelnuts vigorously to remove loose skins. (Or place nuts in a tea towel, and rub to remove skins. Leaving some skin intact is fine.)
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together hazelnuts and granulated sugar until fine particles form. (Don’t overprocess, or a nut butter will form.) Whisk in salt.
- In a large bowl, beat together egg yolks and superfine sugar with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract, beating until combined. With mixer at medium speed, add hazelnut mixture to egg yolk mixture, beating until incorporated. (Batter will be very stiff.)
- In another large bowl, beat egg whites at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Spoon one-third of egg whites into hazelnut batter, stirring vigorously to loosen mixture. Add remaining egg whites, folding until incorporated.
- Using an offset spatula, spread batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Lightly tap pan on countertop to level batter and reduce air bubbles.
- Bake until cake edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut 28 rounds from cake. (Rinse cutter with very hot water between cuts for ease of cutting rounds and creating sharp, clean cuts.)
- Place Sour Cream Buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip (Wilton #12). Pipe a ring of buttercream around outer edge of 14 cake rounds.
- Place Bittersweet Ganache in another piping bag fitted with a medium round tip (Wilton #12). Pipe inside buttercream circles to fill. Top with remaining 14 cake rounds. Spoon approximately ½ teaspoon apricot preserves in centers of tops of cakes. Pipe drops of buttercream around preserves. (If needed, using tip of a spoon, spread apricot preserves to cover tops of cakes.) Place cakes in a covered container and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. For best flavor, let cakes come to room temperature before serving.
Sour Buttercream
Butter, confectioners’ sugar, and sour cream create a frosting that is not overly sweet, making it a perfect filling and topping for a number of treats.
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar*
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sour cream
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat together butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract with a mixer, starting at low speed and gradually increasing to high, until combined and smooth. Add sour cream, beating until incorporated. Place in a covered container and refrigerate until cold, several hours or until needed.
Notes
*If buttercream is too soft, add more confectioners’ sugar (up to ¼ cup) to help stiffen buttercream.
Make-Ahead Tip: Sour Cream Buttercream can be made up to a day in advance, stored in a covered container, and refrigerated.
Make-Ahead Tip: Sour Cream Buttercream can be made up to a day in advance, stored in a covered container, and refrigerated.
Bittersweet Ganache
Two simple ingredients combine to make a decadent chocolate filling for our Apricot-Hazelnut Flourless Cakes.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
- In a small saucepan, heat cream over medium heat until very hot with bubbles forming around edge of pan and steam rising from cream. Pour hot cream over chocolate. Let sit until chocolate melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. Let mixture cool in bowl until somewhat firm, but soft enough to pipe.
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