Chocolate Sponge Cake with Hazelnut Cream - Schokoladenbisquit-Kuchen mit Haselnusscreme

Today´s cake is a delightful little Chocolate Sponge Cake with Hazelnut Cream (Schokoladenbisquit-Kuchen mit Haselnusscreme). Sandwiched between two layers of a light chocolate sponge cake is a delicious hazelnut cream. The cake is baked in two small cake pans and is just the right cake to serve to your guests in the afternoon on a lovely day in May while sitting in the garden.

Whether chocolate, lemon or vanilla, sponge cakes can be made using either the creaming method (such as with this cake), the whisking method or by adding the cake ingredients to the batter in stages. For sponge cakes such as this one, flour, eggs, fat and sugar are combined and baked to form a light, porous cake, often with two layers separated by a sweet filling. The light chocolate cake layers of my cake pair perfectly with the creamy hazelnut filling and there is some added crunch from the coarsely chopped hazelnuts.

For the classic creaming method that I used here, butter and sugar are beaten together until pale, light and fluffy and then you gradually introduce the eggs, and finally carefully fold in the flour. This method is often used to make classic sponge cakes and fruit cakes.

Chocolate Sponge Cake with Hazelnut Cream

(Schokoladen-Bisquitkuchen mit Haselnusscreme)

Ingredients for the Cake

185 grams (6½ oz) unsalted butter, softened
185 grams (6½ oz) superfine (caster) sugar
4 eggs (M), organic or free range if possible
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
150 grams (5 oz) self-raising flour *
25 grams (1 oz) cocoa powder (I use Dutch process)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp milk (room temperature)

* Self-raising flour is widely available in Dutch and UK supermarkets. Outside these countries and the US, it is not commonly used. Self-raising flour will not keep for very long. The baking powder absorbs moisture from the air, which reacts with other ingredients in the flour, affecting its ability to rise.If you do not have self-raising flour, combine plain flour with baking powder and salt, or add raising agents (such baking powder or use bicarbonate of soda) separately in your recipe.

Ingredients for the Hazelnut Cream

100 grams (4 oz) cream cheese
25 grams (1 oz) unsalted butter, softened
50 grams (2 oz) hazelnut spread
100 grams (4 oz) powdered sugar, sifted
40 grams (1½ oz) hazelnuts, coarsley chopped
1 tbsp cocoa powder (I use Dutch process)

Equipment needed

two 18 cm (7 inch) round cake pans, lined with unbleached parchment paper (I use springform pans but you can also use baking pans without a removeable bottom)

Preparation of the Sponge Cake

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
2. Using an electric hand mixer or your stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
3. Gradually add the eggs and vanilla a little at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition. 
4. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and fold gently into the butter mixture.
5. Add the milk to bring the batter to a soft consistency. NOTE: the batter should not be too thick or it will be too difficult to spread evenly in the baking pans.
6. Divide the chocolate batter evenly between the two baking pans and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. 
7. Leave the cakes to cool in their pans on cooling racks for 5 minutes then turn them out onto two wire racks to cool completely.

Preparation of the Hazelnut Cream

1. Using an electric hand mixer or your stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter and hazelnut spread. 
2. Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until fluffy. 
3. Fold in the coarsely chopped hazelnuts.

Assembly of the Cake

1. To assemble the cake, put the least favored cake, whichever it is, on to a plate or stand, and spread generously with the hazelnut cream, then add the second cake, flat-side down. NOTE: using a serrated knife, you could also cut off the top of one of the cakes to make it more flat (this will become the "bottom layer" of your cake).
2. Top with the other cake layer and dust the cake with cocoa powder before serving.
3. Devour.

This is a delightful light chocolate cake with a nice hazelnut chocolate filling that is not too sweet - just perfect to accompany that afternoon cup of tea or coffee!

Who knows this rather old-fashioned cake might become the unsung hero of our teatime repertoire - so why not give this recipe a try!