Hazelnut Brown Butter Cake

Description

This cake is SO GOOD! It’s extremely moist and the hazelnut flavor is incredible. This recipe makes one 10 cake layer. In the picture, I tripled the recipe and made 3 layers with chocolate almond frosting in between.

Hazelnut Brown Butter Cake
Ingredients
  • 5 ounces (about one heaping cup) hazelnuts, blanched to remove dark skins
  • 1/2 pound unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 6 large egg whites
  • 3 tbs granulated sugar
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 °F.
  2. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast 12 to 15 minutes, until they’re golden brown and smell nutty. Let them cool.
  3. Line a 10-inch round cake pan and grease edges with butter
  4. Place the butter in a medium saucepan. Cook the butter until the butter browns and smells nutty (about 6 to 8 minutes). It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Add vanilla. Set aside to cool.
  5. Grind the hazelnuts with the confectioners’ sugar in a food processor until they’re finely ground. Add the flour and pulse to combine. Transfer to a large bowl.
  6. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the granulated sugar and mix on high speed 4 to 5 minutes, until the mixture forms very stiff peaks.
  7. Fold the dry ingredients and the brown butter into the egg whites. Remember to scrap the bottom of the brown butter pan with a rubber spatula to get all the little brown bits.
  8. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool on a rack 30 minutes.