Photo: Willpowder.net

If making your own chocolate-hazelnut spread weren’t enough, check out Gourmet.com for some molecular magic. Chef Will Goldfarb demonstrates how tapioca maltodextrin turns this creamy spread into “soil.” He also provides a recipe for a Nutella knock-off, but I like mine better. My version is healthier and uses more common ingredients.

When eating out, I am notorious for bringing home every piece of uneaten food. I’ve asked waiters to wrap cranberry compote (what else will go with leftover pumpkin pancakes?) and the bread basket. This weekend, I took home leftover bread cubes from the fondue at Artisanal. If you’re paying for quality, why let it go to waste?

Laugh all you want, but if you threw that bread in the trash, you would have missed out on Nutella bread pudding. It’s like baked French toast with swirls of chocolate. Bread pudding is perfect for stale artisanal bread, the kind that’s marked 50% off at the end of the day (although white sandwich bread will do). Hot out of the oven, you get the contrast of a jiggly, spongy bottom and a crunchy, crouton-like top. Bread pudding is also divine cold, in a cold pizza/morning hangover type of way. Not that I would know, since I don’t drink.

In New Orleans, my friend Erik spent a grueling night scrubbing burnt bread and custard off a pan because we didn’t use a water bath. At the risk of offending Erik, I never use a water bath for bread pudding at home. I like the crusty edges.

Not only is this recipe a delicious way to clean out your pantry (I used soy milk and leftover Nutella babka), but it’s low in fat, too.

Nutella Bread Pudding

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse and Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

Oil, for greasing pan
1/4 cup Nutella
8 slices day-old crusty bread or Nutella babka (about 4 cups when cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups milk (soy is fine)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease an 8 by 8-inch square pan with oil.

Spread Nutella on four slices of bread and top with remaining pieces of bread. Cut the sandwiches into 1/2-inch cubes.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla until very smooth. Stir in milk and add the bread. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake until the pudding is set in the center, about 55 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Slather the top with more Nutella, if desired. Bread pudding is best hot out of the oven, or refrigerated after a day. Microwaving it makes it rubbery.

Today is World Nutella Day, my favorite food holiday of the year! It’s a day to cook with, eat and fantasize about chocolate-hazelnut spread. Try making your own or putting some in babka. Don’t forget to vote for my chocolate-hazelnut butter in Culinate’s Death by Chocolate contest. Everyone who votes can win a free trip for two to Napa’s Chocolate Festival on Feb. 23.

For more Nutella recipes, see the roundups, part one and two.

For years, I’ve fantasized about the perfect chocolate babka. Maybe it’s because my parents always packed me plain Cheerios and All Bran sticks for breakfast. Babka would have been out of the question. Too much chocolate. Too much sugar. Too much butter.

But anything else would be poser babka. My idea of babka involves a danish-like dough and layers of chocolate in every bite. There’s so many versions of babka, though, that it’s easy to get lost. The Russians, Polish and Jewish all have their variations. Fortunately, Smitten Kitchen pointed me to Martha Stewart’s recipe, which has 2 1/4 pounds of chocolate and 5 sticks of butter. It makes three loaves, so one loaf “only” has 3/4 pound of chocolate and a 1 2/3 sticks butter.

I know I wanted chocolate and butter but not that much. I significantly reduced the butter, but to keep the dough moist and soft, I added mashed potatoes. (You can enrich any bread with mashed potatoes, as long as it’s about 1/3 the weight of the flour. Potato starch works magic in the dough.) Since World Nutella Day is Feb. 5, I attempted a Nutella babka.

This recipe is a work in progress. This potato bread version isn’t as rich as danish, but with all that chocolate, I don’t mind. If you want real babka, by all means, use 1 2/3 stick of butter (and omit the mashed potatoes.) Also, baking Nutella breaks down its smooth texture and hazelnut flavor, so the filling wasn’t quite how I wanted it.

The version pictured above was baked in muffin tins, but I recommend using a loaf pan. You want the filling to stay moist, and if it’s exposed to too much heat, it will turn grainy and possibly burn.

Nutella Babka

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 1 loaf

This babka has never-ending folds of chocolate. I like to unravel every spiral and chew through the long strip. It’s more fun to eat, and it lasts longer that way. Please excuse the funny measurements; I scaled down the recipe so it makes a more manageable amount.

For dough:
1/2 cup cooked mashed potato (see instructions below)
1/2 cup lukewarm buttermilk or potato water, 110 degrees
1 2/3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup plus a pinch of sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2/3 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/3 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature

For filling:
7 ounces (about 1 1/6 cup) very finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (or 6 ounces 60% chocolate and 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Nutella
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For glaze:
1 teaspoon milk
Some reserved egg from the dough

For streusel:
1/2 cup powdered sugar (or 1/4 cup granulated sugar)
1/3 cup plus 1/9 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup lightly toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Make dough:
Peel, cube and boil (until soft) one small potato, weighing about 3 ounces, in just enough water to cover. Strain out the potato pieces and mash them with a fork. Set aside the potato and water to cool. Freeze any extra water in ice cube trays. Use potato water in place of the liquid in any bread recipe. It’ll make the dough soft and sweet.

Pour lukewarm potato water or buttermilk into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over milk; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together sugar, 2/3 egg, and 2/3 egg yolk. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture, and whisk to combine.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add egg mixture, and beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Change to the dough hook. Add 2 tablespoons butter, and beat until flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated, and a smooth, soft dough that’s slightly sticky when squeezed is formed, about 10 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few turns until smooth. Butter a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Make filling and shape dough:
While the dough is rising, place chocolate and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Stir in the Nutella until well combined.

Generously butter a 9×5x 2 3/4-inch loaf pan line with parchment paper. Beat remaining 1/3 egg with 1 teaspoon milk; set egg wash aside. Gently punch down the dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Let rest 5 minutes. On a generously floured surface, roll dough out into a 16-inch square; it should be 1/8 inch thick.

Brush edges with reserved egg wash. Crumble the chocolate filling (reserve 2 tablespoons) evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Refresh egg wash if needed. Roll dough up tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch ends together to seal. Twist 5 or 6 turns. Brush top of roll with egg wash. Carefully crumble 2 tablespoons filling over the left half of the roll, being careful not to let mixture slide off. Fold right half of the roll over onto the coated left half. Fold ends under, and pinch to seal. Twist roll 2 turns, and fit into prepared pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Make streusel:
In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, salt, hazelnuts and butter. Using a fork, stir until fully combined with clumps ranging in size from crumbs to 1 inch.

Squeeze the streusel in the palm of your hand so large clumps remain. Uncover the loaf and brush the top with egg wash. Sprinkle the streusel on top. It will seem like you have too much streusel, but pack it in there. The dough will expand later. Re-apply the plastic wrap and let stand until the dough reaches the top of the pan and is about doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Bake loaf:
Fifteen minutes prior to baking, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake until the top is golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped (when loaf is removed from pan), about 40 minutes. If the top browns too quickly, cover the loaf with aluminum foil.

Transfer to wire rack and cool for at least 30 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve slightly warm. Babka freezes well for up to 1 month.

After some teases here and there, here’s the new, improved recipe for homemade chocolate-hazelnut spread. Finally! While the original version was delicious, it tasted faintly chalky. The culprit was the powdered sugar, which has added cornstarch (to keep the sugar from caking). Unfortunately, raw cornstarch is as appetizing as raw flour.

I tried making my own powdered sugar by whizzing granulated sugar in a food processor, but it never came out fine enough. It was like crunching on sand. I even tried sweetening it with fruit paste, which split the mixture into a tough, chocolate blob and an oil slick. So that’s what happens when you mix oil and water…

It was time to go the route of the pros and make praliné (caramel powder). The combination of browned sugar, toasted nuts and cocoa powder put it worlds above Nutella. With this method, I didn’t have to add oil to make it a spreadable consistency. Not only was it healthier, but the flavors were more concentrated.

This caramel base is fool-proof. You don’t need a thermometer, and you don’t need to worry about stuff crystallizing. The finished product is so good that you’ll swear you jacked it from a French pastry chef.

For instructions, check the amended chocolate-hazelnut butter recipe.

If you lost out in my chocolate-hazelnut butter giveaway, here’s your second chance. I’m throwing in the aforementioned spread, plus all-natural peanut, cashew and walnut butters. Each variety is full of freshly roasted nuts and has no trans fats. How do you use them? You can make a deluxe PB&J, rich walnut pesto, pumpkin hummus or a fragrant swirl-in for coffee. Of course, you can always dip your finger in the jar, too. Don’t forget, the chocolate-hazelnut butter has a new caramelized sugar base with three times the nuts of commercial Nutella.

Because it’s the holidays, I’m also offering another gift, the Wild Sweets Chocolate cookbook, by Dominique and Cindy Duby. These Vancouver pastry chefs are renowned for using chocolate in both the savory and sweet realm. Fueled by imagination and science, their recipes include slow-roasted salmon with cocoa muscovado consommé and milk chocolate caramel confit. The book’s stunning photography and detailed steps guide you through more than 150 recipes. It’s a must for anyone interested in unusual flavor combinations and molecular gastronomy. The Dubys’ first book, Wild Sweets: Exotic Dessert and Wine Pairings, won Best Book in the World for Food and Wine Matching from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

One or both of these prizes can be yours if you participate in Menu for Hope, an online charity campaign that Pim Techamuanvivit (of Chez Pim) organizes every year. Five years ago, the tsunami in Southeast Asia moved her so much that she had to help. She rounded up bloggers around the world and asked them to contribute food-related prizes for an online fundraiser. Every year, the prizes get bigger and better. Last year’s Menu for Hope raised $60,925 for the U.N. World Food Programme, which seeks to fight hunger worldwide.

This might be wishful thinking, but let’s see if we can raise $100,000 this year. For every $10 you donate online, you get one virtual raffle ticket toward the prize of your choice. Please remember to specify prize code UE27 for the nut butters and UE26 for the Wild Sweets Chocolate cookbook. Here’s more detailed instructions.

How to Enter the Menu for Hope Raffle

1. Pick a fabulous prize from this list. I recommend my homemade nut butters (prize code UE27) and the Wild Sweets Chocolate cookbook (prize code UE26).
2. Go to First Giving and make a donation from Dec. 10-21.
3. Specify which prize you’d like in the “Personal Message” section on the confirmation page. You must write in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code. For example, if you want one chance at chocolate-hazelnut butter, enter “1xUE27.” Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. You can also split up your choices, so a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for UE27 and 3 tickets for UE26. You would write, “2xUE27, 3xUE26.”
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information.
5. Please check the box that says, “I’m happy for the page owner to see my email address…” so that we can contact you if you win. Your address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday, January 9 for the results of the raffle.

Thanks for your participation, and good luck in the raffle!

Congratulations to Christina, Lesha and Danielle (of the food blog Habeas Brulee) for winning a jar of homemade chocolate-hazelnut spread and agreeing to “pay it forward.” Everyone who responded impressed me with their kindness. You had great charity ideas, from foregoing Christmas presents and instead giving gifts to the poor, to lending money to a mother of 11.

For those who didn’t win, here’s a second chance. Drop a donation in the Menu for Hope raffle from Dec. 10-21, and you can win your own chocolate-hazelnut spread, plus three other gourmet nut butters. Be sure to specify prize code UE27 in the comments section of the form. May the best bidder win!

And don’t worry, there will be more Pay it Forward giveaways in the future.

This December, I’m giving away three batches of homemade chocolate-hazelnut butter. You might enjoy this spread as Nutella, but mine’s more sophisticated. I caramelize the sugar and add three times more hazelnuts. If you’re looking for the recipe, the new version’s not online yet… But the basic version has gotten rave reviews.

To win, be one of the first three people to answer this question below: what’s your favorite way to use chocolate-hazelnut spread? The only thing I ask is that you pay it forward. In my version, you must promise to do a charitable act.

Some ideas: volunteer for the relief efforts in New Orleans, because it’s still bad down there. Or donate money to worthy causes, such as CulinaryCorps, UNICEF (they have programs for the cyclone in Bangladesh and the genocide in Darfur), and a Menu for Hope. Or, go green by recycling more, using compact fluorescent lightbulbs and eating less animal products. I would appreciate it if you let me know your good deed, because I love to know about random acts of kindness.

I once ate a chocolate chip cookie that fell in the dirt. I wash ziplock bags and reuse them. I like taking the second-to-last item on a dish so someone else will feel guilty about taking the last one.

Up until I visited my first food blog three years ago, “I like to eat Nutella straight off my finger” would have joined the list of culinary confessions above. I was so crazy about that chocolate-hazelnut spread that I Googled it, which brought me to Il Forno’s post about Nutella’s 40th birthday. After reading about Nutella’s history in sweet detail, I no longer felt like a nut. I may eaten a jar of Nutella in one week, but one girl she finished it by the spoonful over three days.

Another case in point: Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Shelley from At Home in Rome solemnly declare today “World Nutella Day” - a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella.

I made a Nutella tart from Pierre Herme, known worldwide as the Picasso of Pastry. When I went to Paris last November, I bought a 6 Euro slice of cake and a 2 Euro macaroon from his store. Boy, were they worth it. All the textures and flavors were perfectly balanced. That man is a culinary engineer.

The recipe was first posted on Il Forno’s site. It’s a mouth-shattering crust with a layer of Nutella, bittersweet chocolate cream, and toasted hazelnuts on top. A couple notes:

• Use unsalted butter, or else the salt will drown out the flavor of the chocolate. If you only have regular butter, you can be a smart aleck and call it “salted chocolate hazelnut tart” (not that it’s my thing).
• Drizzle the butter into the chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly. The mixture will want to split because it’s so greasy. I actually think silken tofu would make a fine substitute, but that’s another post.
• You only need half the amount of hazelnuts called for: a half cup.
• If you don’t have a tart pan, form the dough in a 9-inch springform pan, making the sides 1-inch tall.
• People have complained that Herme’s tart dough is difficult to work with, so here’s a recipe from Into to Fine Baking at The New School’s Culinary Arts program.

Lynn’s Tart Dough - Pate Brisee aux Oeufs (French Pastry Dough with Eggs)

by Lynn Kutner

This dough is a dream to work with: it hardly sticks and can withstand heavy rolling. The secret ingredient, an egg, enriches the dough.

Take the extra effort to blind bake the dough so it doesn’t warp in the oven. Brushing it with egg wash and sugar makes the crust stay crispy. A soggy crust just destroys all your hard work.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg yolk (save the white to glaze the crust)
2 tablespoons ice water (a few more drops if necessary)

In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. With your fingers, rub in the butter until the mixture feels mealy (small bits of butter are still visible). Aerate the dough with your hands as you work.
In a measuring cup, add the egg yolk. Add water ALMOST to the 1/4 cup mark. (1/4 cup is the maximum total of egg and water)

Make a well in the flour-butter mixture and pour the liquid in the center. With a rubber spatula, flip the flour from the outside in. If the dough is too dry, break it up in the center and add a few more teaspoons of water.

Flatten the dough into a circle about 1/2″ to 3/4″-thick. Wrap in plastic and chill two hours to overnight.

If you chilled the dough overnight or froze it, let it sit at room temperature until it is pliable but not soft. If the dough cracks when you work it, let it heat up a little longer.

Lightly dust a rolling pin and work surface with flour. Roll the dough 1/8″-thick. Work from the center and roll in one direction, stopping just short of the edge. Turn the dough 90 degrees and continue till finished. Gently ease the dough into a tart mold and trim the edges. Cover with the surface plastic wrap or wax paper and freeze while you preheat the oven to 400 F.

When the oven is ready, prick the dough with a fork all over. Cover the dough with foil and weigh it down with raw dried beans, rice or metal pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust is lightly colored.

Remove the foil. In a small bowl, combine the leftover egg white and a couple teaspoons of water. Brush the egg wash on the crust and sprinkle with a couple teaspoons of sugar. Return the crust to the oven and bake for until golden brown, about 5-10 minutes.

Resources:
Nutella cake
Su Good Eats’ homemade chocolate-hazelnut spread recipe
All other Nutella posts
World Nutella Day posts

Licking the jar clean is strictly encouraged when making a Nutella cake. That’s why it’s my favorite dessert to make. The recipe, from How to Be a Domestic Goddess, is kitschy yet decadent. A whole jar of Nutella, a stick of butter, a half dozen eggs, melted dark chocolate and ground hazelnuts combine to make a pudding-like cake.

Since I’m obsessed with all things with chocolate and hazelnut, I tested out two other recipes in search of the perfect cake. All were good in their own way, but I liked my first try the best. Here’s the taste-off:

Nutella Cake
lightened recipe from How to Be a Domestic Goddess

I had such great results halving the butter and replacing the chocolate with cocoa and sugar that I never bothered to make the full-fat recipe. This cake has virtually no grain; it’s like a solid slab of Nutella whose sweetness is offset by bitter cocoa. To see the interior of the cake, see The Skinny Epicurean.

I tried this recipe with homemade and store-bought chocolate-hazelnut spread. No need to get fancy: Nutella actually makes a better, smoother cake.

Makes 16 rich servings

CAKE:
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup (half stick) soft unsalted butter
1 12-ounce jar of Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tablespoon Frangelico, rum or water
6 large eggs, separated
3/8 tsp cream of tarter or 3/4 tsp vinegar or lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment or wax paper and greasing the sides.
2. In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts with 1 tbsp of sugar until fine.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and Nutella together. Add cocoa, Frangelico (or what you have chosen to use), egg yolks, and the ground hazelnut mixture. Set aside.
4. In another large bowl, combine the egg whites and cream of tarter and beat till soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in 1/2 cup sugar and beat till stiff but not dry. This means that they will hold their peaks, yet still appear glossy and smooth.
5. Lighten the chocolate mixture by stirring in a quarter of the egg whites, which you can beat in as roughly as you want. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites a third at a time.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and cook for 40 minutes or until the cake’s beginning to come away at the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs cling to it. Cool on rack. The top crust will fall in the center like a crater.
7. With your fingers, gently press down the sides of the cooled cake, so the edges are even with the center. Unmold by sliding a knife around the edges. If desired, trim the top crust with a large serrated knife. Invert the cake on a platter, or leave it on the base if you choose.

DECORATING:
adapted from Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts by Alice Medrich
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp low-fat 1% buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 ounces (1 scant cup) whole toasted hazelnuts

1. Combine the sugar and cocoa in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Use a wire whisk to stir in just enough buttermilk to form a smooth paste. Stir in the remaining buttermilk. Cook over medium heat until the mixture simmers and begins to boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the sides and bottom of the saucepan. Boil gently for 2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
2. Pour through a fine strainer. Allow to cool. Cover, placing plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for several hours or overnight. Frosting will thicken as it cools. May be refrigerated, covered, for at least 1 week.
3. To assemble the cake, spread a thin layer of frosting over the top and sides of cake. Allow cake to set, at room temperature, for 20 minutes or more. Spread another lawyer over the top and sides of the cake. Dot the top of the cake with the hazelnuts.
4. Cake may stand at room temperature for up to one day or in the refrigerator for five.

Notes:

• Toast the nuts in a 350-degree oven for 10-20 minutes to release their aroma. Stir half way through baking to ensure even browning. Nuts are done when they are fragrant and golden brown. Optional step: to get rid of the bitter skin, rub the cooled nuts in a paper towel.
• Grinding the hazelnuts with some sugar ensures that those flavorful oils don’t go to waste. The sugar also acts as padding so you can grind the nuts finely without turning them into butter.
• The boiling time is important in the sauce. This glaze makes a thick smooth covering for a cake, but it is not stiff enough to frost with swirls or peaks. If you cheat on the boiling time, it will not thicken enough (even after chilling) to coat a cake without dripping mostly off the sides, nor will it have the intensity of flavor it needs to be a great chocolate sauce.
• To make one cup of buttermilk, measure 1 Tbsp vinegar and add enough milk to make one cup total.

Variation:

• To make about 28 cupcakes, pour the batter into cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Torte
adapted from Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts by Alice Medrich

I used hazelnuts in the Chocolate Walnut Torte recipe and got something very similar to the famous Fallen Chocolate Souffle Torte, printed on the preceeding page. While it wasn’t as pudding-like as the Nutella cake, it was delicious in its own right and did not taste low-fat at all. The torte was delicate and even better when warmed. You don’t need to microwave individual slices till hot, but just enough so the chocolate is oozy and melted. Since hazelnuts have less fat than walnuts, you can probably increase the yolks and chocolate to make the cake richer.

Serves 10

Ingredients:
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts (1-1/3 ounces)
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2-1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped fine
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup boiling water
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp rum (may omit)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg whites
scant 1/4 tsp cream of tartar or 1/2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice
about 2 tsp powdered sugar, for dusting

1. Position the rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Place a round of parchment paper in the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan and spray the sides with vegetable oil spray
2. In a food processor or blender, grind the walnuts with the flour until very fine. Set aside.
3. Combine the chopped chocolate, cocoa and 3/4 cupt of the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Pour in boiling water and whisk until the mixture is smooth and chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the egg yolk, rum, and vanilla. Set aside.
4. Combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium bowl. Beat at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining sugar and continue to beat at high speed until stiff but not dry. Whisk the walnuts into the chocolate. Fold a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate batter to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of the torte comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 25-30 minutes. Cool torte in the pan on a rack. It will sink dramatically in the center as it cools, leaving a raised crust around the edge. Torte may be stored, covered, at room temperature for 1 or 2 days or frozen, well wrapped in foil or plastic, for up to 2 months.
5. To serve: slide a thin knife around the sides of the pan to release the torte. Remove sides and bottom of springform or invert cake pan to unmold. Remove paper liner from bottom and turn torte right side up on a cake circle or platter. Sieve a little powdered sugar on top.

Nutrition information (if made with walnuts)
calories per serving: 169; fat: 5.9 g; % calories from fat: 29%; protein: 3.5 g; carbohydrates: 28.6 g; cholesterol: 21.2 mg

Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake
from Eating Well, winter 2003

Picture courtesy Eating Well

Much of the sweetness and moistness here comes from ground dates. Bread crumbs stand in for some of the hazelnuts to create the nubby texture. This low-fat, low-sugar cake is very good for what it is, but that’s not good enough for me. A mediocre healthy dessert doesn’t deserve to be called dessert. In reality, it’s just a health-ified sweet snack.

The test of a good dessert is how much you need to eat in order to feel satisfied. Because of the dates, this cake has a moist, cloying stickiness that never melts on your tongue. So you keep cutting another slice, hoping that the chocolate hit comes.

Ingredients

CAKE:
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, plus 2 tablespoons for garnish
2 slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts trimmed
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar, divided
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
3 large egg whites

GLAZE:
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1/4 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

To make:

To prepare cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment or wax paper.
2. Combine dates, cocoa and instant coffee in a small bowl. Add boiling water and stir until cocoa has dissolved. Cover and let stand until dates have softened and mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, spread hazelnuts in a shallow baking dish and bake until fragrant and lightly toasted, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
4. Grind bread into fine crumbs in a food processor. Measure to make sure you have 1/2 cup. Transfer to a large bowl. (No need to wash the workbowl between steps.)
5. Place 1/2 cup hazelnuts in the food processor. Add flour and salt; process until nuts are finely ground. Transfer to the bowl with the breadcrumbs.
6. Scrape the cooled date mixture into the food processor. Add 1/3 cup sugar, oil, vanilla and whole egg; process until smooth, stopping several times to scrape down the sides of the workbowl. Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the breadcrumbs and nuts. Mix gently with a rubber spatula.
7. In a large clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Add one-fourth of the beaten whites to the batter and whisk until blended. Fold in the remaining whites with a rubber spatula just until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.
8. Bake until the top springs back when touched lightly, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Spray the rack with cooking spray and invert the cake onto it to cool completely.
9. Meanwhile, to prepare glaze: Combine cocoa, chocolate, corn syrup and instant coffee in a medium bowl. Add boiling water and stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
10. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar to the chocolate mixture, beating with an electric mixer, slowly at first, then gradually increasing speed, until the glaze is smooth and thickened. (The mixture may seem lumpy at first, but it will smooth out.)
11. To finish the cake, place it bottom side up on a serving plate. Place several strips of wax paper under the bottom edge to protect the plate from drips. Spoon on glaze and spread it evenly over the top and sides of the cake with an icing spatula or knife. Arrange the remaining 2 tablespoons hazelnuts around the top outside edge. Discard the wax paper before serving. Makes 12 servings.

Per serving: 233 calories; 9g total fat (2 g sat, 5 g mono); 18 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 4 g fiber; 82 mg sodium.