Rich chocolate cake with fruity cherry filling and chocolate icing, this Chocolate Hazelnut Layered Cake is super amazing and perfect for any celebration!
I’ve been in the mood of making chocolate for a few weeks now. I mean, why not? Especially when you know that enjoying chocolate cakes can really bring joy to you, be it in life or in the mind.
With the intention of making a chocolate cake with cherries in mind, I went through a lot of recipes. And when I saw this cake in the book At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin, one of my favorite chefs, I knew that I need to make it.
Like what I often did, I adapted a little bit to suit my own taste and what I had at hand. I also took some references to some recipes I found on the Internet, like Martha Stewart and Veggies by Candlelight.
The final result might not look as elegant as the picture in the book, but I’m happy that I made it anyway. And I want to share this happiness with you.
WHAT ARE THE CAKE MADE OF?
This cake is made with 3 elements:
Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cakes with rich cocoa flavor
Cherry Filling that you can add to your breakfast bowls too
Chocolate Frosting that I wouldn’t mind eat it on its own (and FYI, I DID.)
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CHERRY LAYERED CAKE
Since the cake has three elements, it does take some work and time to make it, and some processes involve chilling. So I suggest making the cherry filling and the icing the night before.
The order will be:
- Make the Cherry Filling. Chill and store in a jar in the fridge.
- Make the Chocolate Icing. Cover it and store it in the fridge.
- Make the Chocolate Cake. Let it chill down.
- Assemble the cake.
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO ENJOY THIS CAKE
Because the cake doesn’t contain much oil, it’s not as moist as common chocolate cakes. So in this case, I suggest enjoying this cake at room temperature or slightly warm.
HOW TO STORE CHOCOLATE CHERRY LAYERED CAKE
You can store this chocolate cake in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. But if you know you cannot finish the whole thing within 3 days, you can slice it and store the pieces in the freezer. Defrost the amount you want before serving.
I really adore this chocolate cake and finish the whole cake by myself in a week. I think I might try different types of flour for gluten-free versions as well to see how it goes.
I’m so glad that I made this amazing chocolate cake and I hope you could also give it a try!
Chocolate Hazelnut Layered Cake with Cherry Filling and Chocolate Icing
Ingredients
Cake
- 150 g (1 cup) toasted hazelnuts, divided into (⅓ cup/45 g and ⅔ cup/105 cup)
- 120 g (1 cup) spelt flour
- 25 g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
- 100 g boiling water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 12.5 g (2 Tbsp) ground flaxseed
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 50 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil, melted
- 50 g pitted dates
- 50 g water
- 50 g maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
Cherry Filling
- 212 g (1+1/4 cup) frozen cherries
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tsp arrowroot starch
- 1 tsp water
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) cherry jam, I just this black cherry jam
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Icing
- 85 g avocado, ~1/2 large one
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) full-fat coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- A pinch salt
- 50 g (1.8 oz) chocolate
Instructions
To make Cherry Filling
- Add the frozen cherries to a pot over medium heat. Cook until the cherries release their juice.
- Add cinnamon and maple syrup. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the cherries soften.
- In a small bowl, mix the arrowroot starch and 1 tsp of water. Then pour the mixture into the cooked cherries. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes until it thickens up.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cherry jam and vanilla extract. Let it chill.
To make the Chocolate Icing
- In a food processor, add the avocado, coconut milk, salt, and maple syrup. Blend all together. Stop and scrape down the sides as needed.
- Use a double boiler to melt the chocolate. Then pour the melted chocolate into the avocado-coconut mixture in the food processor. Blend to bring all together. Covered and store it in the fridge.
To make the Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Grease two 6″ cake tins and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set them aside.
- Add 45 g roasted hazelnuts and 15 g spelt flour to a grinder or a small food processor. Grind them into fine flour. Save the rest hazelnuts for decoration.
- In a bowl, add the cocoa powder and the boiling water. Mix to combine.
- In another bowl, add the ground hazelnut flour, spelt flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground flaxseed, and salt. Give it a mix.
- In a food processor, add the pitted dates, water, and maple syrup. Blitz to make a sweet date paste. Then add the melted coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- Add the date mixture to the cocoa-water mixture. Mix to incorporate. Then add the flour mixture. Mix just until no clumps remain.
- Divide the batter into the prepared cake tins. Gently drop the pans against the counter to remove air bubbles.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in comes out clean. Place the tins on a wire rack to cool down for at least 15 minutes.
Assemble
- Remove the cake from the tin and remove the parchment circle of one cake.
- Spread about 120ml (1/2 cup) chocolate icing on the cake. Top with cherry filling and spread out evenly. leave about 1.2cm (1/2 inch) space from the edges to prevent spilling out.
- Flip the cake upside down to get a flat top and place it on the first layer of the cake. You can also use a knife to chop up the pop-up area if you prefer.
- Ice the top and sides of the cake with the remaining chocolate icing.
- Crash the left roasted hazelnuts to garnish the cake. Enjoy!
