Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Preparation

1. Grease a loaf tin (about 25 cm) with butter and dust with flour. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional).
2. Separate the eggs and whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.
3. Cream the softened butter, sugar and vanilla sugar until fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time.
4. Mix the hazelnuts, sifted flour and baking powder and carefully fold into the mixture alternately with the beaten egg whites.
5. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a wooden skewer comes out clean. If the surface gets too dark, cover loosely with foil.
6. Leave the cake in the tin for about 10 minutes, turn out and leave to cool completely.
7. Melt the couverture chocolate over a bain-marie and coat the cooled cake with it.

Drink with it

• Fortified wine · excellent match

  Tawny Port, 10 years

  Nutty, caramel and dried-fruit notes from the cask meet the hazelnut and dark chocolate, and the sweetness keeps pace with the cake.

  Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage ↗

• Cream liqueur · excellent match

  Hazelnut liqueur, on ice

  The liqueur repeats the hazelnut directly, and ice takes the heaviness off the sweetness.

• Sherry-cask whisky · excellent match

  Sherry cask whisky, neat or with a splash of water

  Nut, dried-fruit and cocoa notes from the sherry cask mirror the hazelnut and chocolate.

  What Does the Cask Do to Whisky? ↗

• Fortified wine · good match

  Pedro Ximénez sherry, lightly chilled

  Raisin and coffee notes go with the couverture, but the dense sweetness is rather heavy next to the cake.