Chocolate hazelnut fudge cake, i.e. The. Best. Cake. Ever. No, I'm not kidding, this is the cake of dreams and it by far exceeds any cake I have ever tasted, vegan or otherwise. It's fudgy, moist, dense, rich, infused with hazelnuts; everything you would want and need a cake to be. It's topped with the most amazing chocolate fudge icing and hazelnut pieces, for an extra nutty hit.
I had a look at many cake recipes online and had a think about how I could make the ultimate cake, this is mostly adapted from Minimalist Baker's one bowl vegan chocolate cake, which I felt needed a little lift with the addition of hazelnuts, I also adjusted the amount of sugar as the hazelnut milk and applesauce were very sweet already. I made this cake for my mum's birthday and she also agreed at how amazing this cake was and couldn't stop raving about it, especially the icing. This is definitely a celebration cake, fit for birthdays and other special occasions and it's pretty simple too, if you follow the directions, you can't go wrong!
If you can manage to keep it around after the first day, this cake actually gets fudgier as the days go on, 5 days later my mum said the cake was still as good, possibly even better than the day it was made, so that's great news if you want to savour it. If you don't have an electric whisk for the frosting you can use a food processor - I made mine in my nutribullet.
I also made this cake for my work's Xmas celebration and it went down really well there too, this will definitely be my go-to cake recipe in the future! I made a single layer cake in a 20cm tin, but you could use two larger tins and double the recipe for both the cake and frosting, ensure to adjust the baking time accordingly. This cake is incredibly delicious and great for so many occasions, it's amazing on it's own but would also be great with some vegan vanilla ice cream, a cup of tea or even a refreshing glass of soy milk!
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Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge Cake | Serves: 10 | Prep Time: 30 mins | Baking Time: 60-70 mins
You'll need
- 20cm springform tin
- Food processor
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Spatula
- Palette knife
- Electric whisk
Ingredients
Cake- 1/2 cup whole hazelnuts / 1/3 cup roasted, chopped hazelnuts
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp apple sauce
- 1 cup hazelnut milk
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup vegan butter (I used vitalite)
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 20g melted dark chocolate, cooled slightly
- 1 tsp hazelnut milk
- 8-10 whole hazelnuts
- 1/3 cup whole hazelnuts / 1/3 cup roasted, chopped hazelnuts
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, grease a 20cm springform tin and dust with flour.
- Begin by grinding 1/2 cup whole hazelnuts or 1/3 cup roasted, chopped hazelnuts into a fine powder in the food processor, then transfer to the mixing bowl. Then coarsely grind 1/4 cup of hazelnuts to top the cake and place to one side for later. Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine.
- Add the applesauce to the food processor and blitz until smooth. Measure out the hazelnut milk, olive oil and vanilla extract and combine in the mixing bowl with a whisk. Then add the vinegar and whisk again.
- Pour into the cake tin and bake for 55-60 minutes, when an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean, turn the oven off and leave for a further 10 minutes. When cooled remove the side of the tin and turn out onto a plate/cake stand, allow to cool fully.
- To make the frosting, combine all the ingredients using an electric whisk until firm and fudgy, it should firm up even more as it stands.
- Ice the cake by spreading the frosting over the surface and sides. Place the whole hazelnuts around the edge, press the hazelnut pieces to the side of the cake and sprinkle the remaining hazelnut pieces in the centre of the cake. Serve up and enjoy!
Cassidy xx
