My father died last year, on Easter Monday.
His favorite nuts were filberts, also known as hazelnuts. I once bought him a hazelnut tree to plant at my mother's family's country home, but the tree didn't survive that first harsh winter.
This torte has easy-to-make-in-the-blender, nutty cake layers, a rich mocha filling, and a simple whipped cream topping.
Hazelnut Mocha Whipped Cream Torte
4 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp. flour
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup hazelnuts
Mocha Filling:
2 tbsp soft butter
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp hot strong coffee
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
Topping: 1 cup whipping cream, sweetened
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease 2 8-inch round layer cake pans.
In a blender, mix eggs and white sugar thoroughly.
Add flour, baking powder and nuts.
Blend at high speed.
Pour half the batter in to each greased layer cake pan.
Place the pans on the middle rack of the preheated oven, not touching, and bake at 350 degrees F about 20 minutes till done.
Let cake layers cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto cooling racks.
When layers are cool, make filling.
To make filling, cream the butter and icing sugar.
Add the hot coffee, cocoa powder and vanilla.
Place one cake layer on a cake plate. Spread top with mocha filling.
Place second layer on top of the first.
Whip the cream (add sugar to taste) and spread the whipped cream over the top of cake.
Decorate the top of the cake with several whole hazelnuts if you like.
