Egyptian Hazelnut Cake

This Egyptian cake with hazelnuts is the creamiest, sweetest, most comforting cake you can imagine. Hazelnuts, buttercream and a caramel cream filling, can it get any better?

Hazelnut Cake

This Egyptian hazelnut cake is really something special, definitely one of my favorite cakes ever! So soft and so creamy, so full of flavor... it can hardly get any better!

I think I did not mention it yet, but the theme for the last two weeks of the year are hazelnuts. I love them dearly, I always did and there are so many things I put them into, I decided I might do a series about it.

I did not even have to particularly look for many recipes including hazelnuts, I really use them so often, I just had the difficulty of choosing among all those recipes that I make often and like so much.

Especially now, at Christmas time, with all the cookies and hazelnut cakes I'm baking, there are really hazelnuts to be found just about anywhere. Thank God, none of us has a nut allergy or any allergies whatsoever. 🙂

About the Egyptian Cake

Although this cake is called Egyptian, I really cannot say if it truly is an Egyptian recipe. But it became famous in Romania under this name and so I decided to keep it.

If you are Romanian and read at least a few Romanian food blogs, you might have found this recipe already. I have seen it on so many Romanian blogs, I find it difficult to give you a clear source. I wrote down the recipe I found on Laura Sava's blog, but she gives another source as well.

So if you are looking for a decadent, truly amazing tasting dessert for Christmas, I can really recommend this Egyptian cake.

I have made it twice already and it was a hit with everybody who tasted it. My neighbor shoveled down 3 slices in one go, while complaining about getting too fat all the time...

His father ate almost a whole piece before remembering that he actually has a slight hazelnut allergy and should not be eating any at all... He got red in the face and started sweating, but it was not so bad in the end... 🙂 So, stay away from this blog for the next two weeks, if you have a hazelnut allergy, I don't want to cause you any distress.

What more can I say about this hazelnut cake? It is sooo creamy and moist and although quite sweet due to all that caramel, you will still be able to taste those wonderful hazelnuts. You will love any morsel of it!

Tips for making the hazelnut buttercream cake

• The Egyptian hazelnut cake needs to be made one day in advance. Once assembled it has to spend one night in the refrigerator.
• You can start two days in advance and make the layers, pudding for buttercream and caramel. They need to cool completely before assembling.
• Especially the pudding should be prepared one day in advance, as it needs quite a long time to cool completely.

Kitchen scale:

• Tip number 1 and the most important one as well: use a kitchen scale, it guarantees for best results. (Amazon affiliate link)
• Cup measuring is just too imprecise, especially when it comes to making cakes that involve more than just throwing 5 ingredients in a bowl.

Steps:

• Follow the indicated steps and work methodically one step after another.
• Don't start on two things simultaneously, finish one thing before you begin another. It will save you the stress.

Step 1:

• Start with the layers, you will need to bake 3 of them separately and they will have to cool completely before you assemble everything.
• If you make them one day in advance, cool completely, then wrap them individually in cling film, to prevent them from drying out or sticking together.

Step 2:

• Prepare the pudding for the vanilla buttercream, it also needs to cool completely.
• It can also be made one day in advance. In this case, place a piece of cling film directly on the surface of the pudding. That will prevent the pudding from forming a skin.

Step 3:

• Make the caramel, it also needs to cool completely.
• It can also be made one day in advance, but don't crush it until you are ready to fold it into the heavy cream.

Step 4:

• Make the buttercream. Make sure you use soft, unsalted butter and that the pudding and the butter are both at room temperature, if their temperatures are different, the buttercream might break.
• Beat the butter thoroughly before you start incorporating the pudding. The butter should be white and fluffy, beat it for at least 3-4 minutes.
• Incorporate the pudding into the butter one tablespoon at a time, making sure that the buttercream is well mixed before adding the next portion.
• Never taste the buttercream while you mix the butter with the pudding. The spit on your fingers or spoon will cause the buttercream to curdle.

How to fix broken buttercream? In case it happens...

• If the buttercream still curdles/breaks, don't despair, there is a way to fix that.
• Place the bowl with the buttercream on a pot filled with water, but make sure that the water doesn't touch the buttercream bowl (bani marie).
• Heat gently (making sure that the water doesn't come to a boil) while whisking continuously until the buttercream is smooth again.

Step 5:

• Make the caramel cream.
• Break the caramel into smaller pieces and process the pieces in a food processor until you have a fine powder. Alternatively you can crush the pieces to powder using a rolling pin.
• Whisk the heavy cream until stiff.
• Fold in the caramel powder and the ground hazelnuts.

Step 6:

• Assemble the Egyptian hazelnut cake.
• Reserve 5 or 6 tablespoons of the buttercream and set them aside for later.
• Place one layer on a platter.
• Divide the remaining buttercream into 3 parts and spread one part evenly on the first cake layer.
• Divide the caramel filling into 3 parts and spread one part evenly on top of the buttercream filling. Place the second layer on top and repeat the procedure. Do the same with the third one.

Step 7:

• Frost.
• To finish the cake, frost it around the edges with the reserved buttercream.
• Place in the fridge overnight to allow to set nicely and get really moist.

Step 8:

• Finish the cake.
• Just before serving: sprinkle the edges and the top with the extra ground hazelnuts and only the top with the unsweetened cocoa powder.

MORE LUXURIOUS CAKES?

• Cappuccino Whiskey Cake - an amazingly moist, grown-up cake with a lot of whiskey, cappuccino, and coffee.
• Vanilla Poppy Seed Cake - a poppy seed cake covered with a luscious vanilla buttercream layer, coffee dipped biscuits, and topped with a decadent dark chocolate glaze.
• Triple Chocolate Cake with Ganache - Brownie-like triple chocolate cake soaked in caramel syrup and topped with ganache and whipping cream, a must-have recipe for all chocolate lovers.
• Walnut Chocolate Cake with Buttercream - a decadent yet easy to make cake with walnuts and chocolate.
• Double Chocolate Cheesecake - Nigella Lawson’s incredible chocolate cheesecake. A double chocolate cheesecake to die for!

PIN IT FOR LATER!