When I first looked at July’s challenge, I panicked a bit. After all, a chocolate covered hazelnut cake with buttercream wasn’t quite what I wanted to be doing, because of several reasons. First of all, hazels are my least favourite nuts, specially when combined with chocolate - I hate Nutella!

You can find the original recipe on Melle Cotte, who hosted this month’s challenge. And of course, see what everybody else has done on the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Secondly, after the Opera Cake and Helena’s birthday cake, I have done and eaten enough buttercream for the whole Summer, so the idea of doing it again in this hot weather didn’t please me at all. Same thing for the chocolate frosting, after Filipe’s and Pedro’s birthday cakes, I promised myself I would lay off chocolate ganache for a good while.

Reading the recipe again, i found out, although there was no escaping the chocolate, I could replace the buttercream for whipped cream, and the hazelnuts for any other nut. Almond would have been too easy, so if I was going to do an extravagant cake, why not risk something a bit bolder? I couldn’t find unsalted pistachios, so I ended up buying a great big bag of cashew nuts.

I was a bit apologetic when I presented the cake to my friends, as I wasn’t too sure of how it had turned out. But surprisingly, they all loved it. It has a different and unexpected taste, and wasn’t too sweet or dry, even if I cheated a little and skipped the alcohol, syrup and apricot glaze steps, to avoid too many flavours mixed up.

Cashew Gateau with Praline Cream

Cashew Genoise

1 1/2 cups toasted cashew nuts
2/3 cup flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar (divided 1/4 and 3/4 cups)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
1/4 cup warm, clarified butter

Preheat oven to 250 Grease and flour a 25 cm circular pan

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch until you get a fine mixture.

Beat the yolks with and electric mixer until thick and light in color, then add 3/4 cup of sugar. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind.

Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until you reach soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, and keep beating. Then add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. (instructions on how to make clarified butter) Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate.

Transfer the batter into the pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula or back of a spoon.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

Praline Paste

1 cup cashew nuts
2/3 cup sugar

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter.

Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides.

Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. As it cools, it will harden into brittle.

Break the candied nuts into pieces. Set some aside for decorations and place the rest in the food processor. Process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes.

Praline Cream

400 ml whipping cream
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup praline paste

Add the sugar to the cream and whip it up. Place the praline paste in a separate bowl, and add a few spoons of whipped cream. Use a blender to mix the paste and the cream into an uniform paste without any chunks. If necessary, add a few more spoons of cream. Then add this mixture to the rest of the cream and whisk it until smooth and even.

Divide the cake into 2 layers and place the first layer top-side down on a cooling rack.

Spread the bottom layer with a 6mm thickness of the praline cream. Place the top layer cut side down on the cake. Gently, press the sides of the cake to align the layers. Cover with a thin coat of the praline cream, in order to even out the kinks and create a smooth surface for the ganache. Refrigerate to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Ganache Glaze

170g dark chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. hot water, if needed

Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a medium sized bowl.

Heat the cream in a saucepan, on low. As soon as it boils, immediately and carefully pour over the chocolate. Leave it alone for one minute, then slowly stir and mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. Carefully blend in vanilla extract. If the surface seems oily, add a bit of hot water. Let it cool a little bit before pouring.

Place the rack with the cake over a large shallow pan to catch the ganache drippings. With a metal spatula in hand, and holding the saucepan about 20cm above the cake, pour the ganache onto the cake’s center. Use the spatula to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance. The ganache should cover the top and run down the sides of the cake.

When the ganache has been poured and is coating the cake, lift one side of the rack and bang it once on the counter to help spread the ganache evenly and break any air bubbles. Patch any bare spots on the sides with a smaller spatula, but do not touch the top after the “bang”. Let the cake stand at least 15 minutes to set after glazing.

Garnish the cake with the remainder of the praline cream and the chunks of cashew praline.