Chocolate Hazelnut Mud Cake

Easter commands chocolate, so true to form, GLBTK is here to help you keep on track by sharing delicious recipes for healthier treats... 

This mud cake really delivers... It tastes like Ferrero Rocher chocolates, and for all you Nutella fans, this will really hit the spot! It's incredible... chocolatey, rich & fudgy with a sweet chocolate icing... You'll never believe this cake isn't full of sugar or grains...

I chose to use mainly ground hazelnuts in this cake instead of my usual 'flour' of choice almond flour. I'm pretty sure you can't buy ground hazelnuts in Ireland (feel free to correct me), so you'll need to grind them yourself. Don't let this put you off though, it's really simple and quick. It just requires you tossing the hazelnuts into a food processor/blender and pulsing them until you have a fine ground powder. Don't worry if there are slightly larger lumps of hazelnuts.... it will simply give the cake an amazing texture.

For the cake: 

• 3 eggs
• 275ml buttermilk
• 60g coconut oil, melted
• 60ml walnut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp Irish honey
• 150g ground hazelnuts
• 80g ground almonds 
• 100g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp GF baking powder
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 160d (fan). Grease and line 2 8" round sandwich tins. 

Start by whisking eggs, buttermilk, oils, vanilla and honey together until well combined. 

Add all the dry ingredients.

Mix well to ensure there are no lumps in the mixture. 

Divide between the lined tins. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and firm. (Nut flours have tendency to burn faster than wheat flour, so keep an eye on the cakes. If the cake is browning too quickly, place a sheet of parchment paper over the cake to protect it. 

Once the cake is baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tins. Turn out onto a sheet of parchment paper on a wire rack and allow to cool fully. 

While the cake is cooling, you can make a start on the icing. This icing is INCREDIBLE! Trust me... I've made a lot of chocolate icing, and this tastes as chocolatey and fudgy as any of the traditional icings I've had. Sorry for the lack of photos of the icing, it was very experimental and didn't expect it to be as amazing! No doubt I'll be making it again, so will update this post then :) 

For the icing: 

• 200g cooked sweet potato 
• 60g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 15g coconut oil 
• coconut milk/full fat cows milk

Peel, chop & boil the sweet potato until softened. 

Add the warm sweet potato, cocoa, vanilla and coconut oil to a food processor and pulse until smooth. 

You may need to add some coconut milk/cows milk to thin out the icing if you find it's too thick. 

Spread an even layer of icing over the base of the cake.

Sandwich the layers together and top the cake with the remaining icing. 

At this point, you can decorate the cake with hazelnuts and it will look incredible.... or like me, you just have to go one step further!! 

This chocolate ganache is really quick and easy to make, and makes the cake a little bit extra special. 

• 50g dark chocolate (85% cocoa solids)
• 30g coconut oil 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the ingredients over a low heat, stirring constantly. 

Set aside to cool and thicken slightly. 

Pour over the cake and allow to drizzle down the sides of the cake. 

Decorate with whole hazelnuts.