This petite Ferrero Rocher cake is perfect for September - when days shorten, leaves grow tinges of gold and flavoured coffees seem to be everywhere. Cutting yourself a slice of this chocolate and hazelnut cake will be the perfect way to finish the week. Brace yourself - it’s a soft chocolate cake filled with chocolate and hazelnut whipped cream and finished with individual Ferrero Rochers! Yup. Our recipe creates a small 6 inch cake - ideal for a quick yet indulgent weekend sweet as the weather gets crisper. So why not treat yourself with our Ferrero Rocher cake recipe!
Ferrero Rocher cake recipe!
(Slice generously for 4 people or perfect for a party of 8!)
For the chocolate cake…
- 283g self-raising flour (this is standard in the UK, but you can opt for plain flour and baking powder)
- 283g caster sugar
- 3 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder (however, this depends on brand and quality)
- Boiling water
- 283g butter or margarine
- 4-5 medium sized eggs
01: Pre-heat your oven to 170C / 325F / gas mark 3.
02: Boil some water and create a soft toothpaste-like texture cocoa paste. Make sure there are no lumps!
03: In a stand-up mixer cream together the butter and caster sugar until combined.
04: Add in your flour and lightly mix together.
05: Now add in your eggs. Mix until incorporated (medium to high speed).
Tip!
Try not to over mix your batter as this can produce a denser and chewy-like cake which is not good. You want light and fluffy! There are proteins and gluten in batter which help make cakes rise and achieve the perfect texture so the last thing you want to do beat them up to oblivion.
06: Add in your chocolate paste and mix again on medium speed. When adding the chocolate you need to make sure that you add in as much as you like… some people may want a lighter cocoa cake and some might want a denser dark chocolate cake.
07: Grease up your cake pans and pour the batter evenly between three 6″ pans.
08: Bake for around 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean! Once baked leave to cool!
For the chocolate and hazelnut whipped cream (plus decoration)…
- 600ml double/heavy/whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 tablespoon hazelnut essence
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 6 Ferrero Rochers
- Chopped hazelnuts
- Angled palette knife
- Icing scraper
- Turntable
To make the chocolate and hazelnut whipped cream frosting and filling…
01:
In the bowl of a stand-up mixer (like a KitchenAid Artisan) add all the ingredients. Don’t worry about whipping the cream first and folding in the cocoa sprinkle by sprinkle. It’s easy - just add everything into the bowl in no particular order.
02:
Begin your mixer on medium speed for around a minute. This helps whisk up the cream to a slightly thicker consistency instead of switching it on full throttle and having cream sprayed across the kitchen. That… you definitely don’t want. Too much mess! You want more time eating and enjoying your cake not cleaning!
03:
Don’t whip the cream too much or it will suddenly turn stiff, grainy and not very attractive. Don’t stress out if this does happen to you though. To revive over whipped cream simply add in a couple to a few of tablespoons of extra cream (or whole milk) and mix by hand slowly until you have the cream the consistency and smoothness you like.
To decorate…
01:
Once filled and stacked use a good angled palette knife to smoother your chocolate and hazelnut whipped cream around the sides and top of your cake. Don’t apply too much pressure whilst doing this or else you’ll end up pushing the cake too much = in a Leaning Tower of Pisa look! At this stage you don’t need to concentrate on your frosting look perfect so long as it covers your cake. The next few steps will focus more on smoothing and sharpening your whipped cream!
02:
Now with a good icing scraper, turntable and a clean bowl begin to work your way around the cake smoothing and also removing excess chocolate whipped cream from around the sides of the cake.
03:
Gently press chopped hazelnuts around the base of the cake working your way up the sides a little.
04:
To finish use small dollops of any left over whipped cream chocolate to fix your Ferrero Rochers on top. Make sure each is spaced evenly apart.
Enjoy with ice cold milk or a steaming hot cup of coffee for a naughty treat during frosty evenings costing up to your sweetheart. If you want to make this cake perfect for grown-ups you can always add a little splash Kahlua Coffee Liqueur into the cream whilst whipping making it one tasty Ferrero Rocher mocha inspired cake!
