I may have decorated the cake a bit much but it’s really a divine tasting hazelnut cake insfused with powdered cnnamon and decorated with a cinnamon buttercream. The colours are misleading but aren’t they eye catching? One would associate browns and creams with this sort of cake but I love surprises and thought of this cake as a delicious surprise.
The buttercream can be skipped altogether and the cake can be drizzled with chocolate ganache or a dusting of cinnamon sugar. I think the nuttiness and coarse texture of a hazelnut cake and the smell of cinnamon is a mind blowing combination.
Do you like your cakes to look classic and indicative of the ingredients or do you like to play around with the appearance?
If you love cinnamon flavoured cakes, dont forget to check out this Cinnamon cake with apple rosemary buttercream.
Hazelnut Cake with Cinnamon
Makes a 7 inch (18 cm) round cake
½ cup (114 g/1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup (220 g) light or dark brown sugar
2 eggs
½ cup (51 g) hazelnut meal
1 cup (125 g) self-rising flour
1 tbsp (8 g) powered cinnamon
½ cup (120 ml) milk
Cinnamon Buttercream
1/4 cup (114 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (240 g) icing/powdered sugar
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
1 tbsp (15 ml) milk
1-2 drops teal gel food coloring
Make the hazelnut cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray the base and sides of a 7-inch (18-cm) round cake pan and line the base with baking paper.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Fold in the hazelnut meal, flour, cnnamon and milk in alternating batches, until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth out the surface with a spatula.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven. Set it aside for 10 minutes, then gently run a blunt knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Carefully turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the cinnamon buttercream: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, beating constantly until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as and when required. Add the cinnamon and milk, and beat until smooth
Assemble : Place the cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Using a piping bag fitted with an open star nozzle, pipe a border of the buttercream onto the top of the cake. Decorate with sugar or fresh edible flowers.
