“Why do you always bake cupcakes?” grumbled A the other day, when I told him about plans for a fourth batch of cupcakes. I had been obsessing over them for the past week – I was thinking of vanilla with a chocolate filling and crunchy chocolate frosting, but no matter how I thought about it, somehow it didn’t sound aesthetically pleasing (it’d look too much like a white cupcake with a big brown turd sitting on top).
A was right. It was time to diversify my baking repertoire. Fuck the diet, and fuck aesthetics, I thought, this time I’m going to go the whole hog and create the most awesome chocolate creation that would bring any chocolate fan to her knees. And what better ingredients to use in the creation of this weapon of mass destruction than everyone’s favourite chocolate-hazelnut snacks, Ferrero Rocher and Nutella?
From L to R: the cake, smugly basking in the glow of its chocolate perfection; and a close-up of its cross-section.
After much research, I decided on a recipe culled from blogs, the New York Times and Food Network for this sinful treat. It’s basically a layer cake with a milk chocolate and Ferrero Rocher filling, covered with a blend of Nutella and cream. It’s a wee bit mafan (troublesome in Mandarin) but if you have about two to three hours to spare and want to create something delicious for dessert or teatime, then this is it.
This cake gets quite hard when it’s chilled, and it’s at its best when it’s at (Singaporean) room temperature. That’s when the chocolate from both the frosting and the filling is so gooey, it’s like drinking from the chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A was a veritable Augustus Gloop when he tried it. He took a bite, and his eyebrows shot up into his auburn hair. “It’s amazing!” he declared, before vacuuming up every single crumb of the cake.
Recipe after the jump!
Some notes:
- For the cake batter, I decided to use the recipe from the red velvet cupcakes because I wanted a lovely thick yet spongy density to balance out the rich chocolate. I think I’ll use this recipe as my basic one any time I make cupcakes or cakes. You can tell you’ve got a good cake when its surface is springy even after cooling.
- One easy way to crush Ferrero Rochers is to do them while they’re in their gold foil wrappers. Peel off the brown cupcake liner, lightly smash the chocolate in its foil, roll it around a hard surface, then open it up and dump the crushed bits into your mixture!
Chocolate Ferrero Rocher Cake with Nutella Ganache
Cake
3½ cups cake flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
1½ teaspoons salt
2 cups softened butter
2¼ cups granulated sugar
4 Singapore-sized large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1¼ cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2½ teaspoons white vinegar.
Milk chocolate and Ferrero Rocher filling
15 Ferrero Rochers, crushed
200g Lindt milk chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder
2/3 cup heavy cream
Nutella Ganache
1 cup Nutella
1 cup heavy cream
1. Preheat oven to 200C. Line two round 22cm-diameter layer cake pans with a baking sheet or aluminium foil.
2. Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.
3. Place butter and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until light, fluffy and pale. Beat in eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.
4. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.
5. Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment, and cool.
6. Meanwhile, start on the milk chocolate and Ferrero Rocher filling. Place the Lindt chocolate in a medium bowl with the sifted cocoa powder. In a small saucepan bring the cream to a boil. Once it starts bubbling, pour the hot cream over the chocolate and gently whisk until smooth. Allow the mixture to cool, and add the crushed Ferrero Rochers.
7. Next, start on the Nutella ganache. Melt the Nutella and cream over low heat, stirring constantly, until smoothly blended. Let it cool.
8. Spread the milk chocolate and Ferrero Rocher filling over one layer, then put other layer on top. Frost the top and sides with the Nutella ganache, then stand back, and marvel at your heavenly chocolate and hazelnut creation.
wah lao that sounds damn rich. but while i’m not a ginormous chocohalic, ferrero rocher PLUS nutella anything would indeed bring me to my knees. *begs for a crumb
(PS: i think you mean greaseproof paper, not baking sheet? baking sheets generally refer to the flat, insulated trays e.g. that you would use to bake cookies!)
olord. *stabs myself in the eye.
ferrero rocher did the trick ya ?
it looks absolutely divine
thanks all!
[...] 08 2007 This was what Al & I made on saturday… of course is was supposed to look like this, but somehow ours turned out like a monster of a chocolate cake! For some unknown reason, our cake [...]
hi,
just wanan ask why the need for the vinegar?
thanks
Must. Make.
This sounds fantastic!
hey hola, sorry for the late reply. the vinegar is necessary because it reacts with the acid of the buttermilk to create bubbles in the mixture, this in turn makes the cake airier as it bakes. don’t worry, you won’t taste the vinegar in the cake after it’s done!
Is heavy cream heavy WHIPPING cream? Like the type that comes in small cartons?
this rocked SO hard.
hey M, yes, you’re right.
butch: thanks! it was a moving experience for me too, the first time i ate it.
haiyah! wa la wei the vinegar is because you use buttermilk in there lah. google lah before u answer.
Is baking soda Bicarb of soda or is it baking powder?
This recipe sounds truly wicked
I tried making that cake only with my own cake batter and a little twist to the filling!! But for the rest it was all amaziiiiingggggg! Sweets are my favorite thing to make!!
LH this is a super late reply, but yes baking soda is bicarb of soda. baking powder is sthg else.
chef ang: glad u liked it!
omg this sounds soooo good. i am going to bake it for my husbands 25th birthday this year… we both LOVE ferrero so i am sooo excited to make this… mmmm sounds sooooo dlish
I don’t agree with the explanation provided here. Buttermilk itself is enough as the acid and moisture needed for the baking soda (which is Bicarbonate of Soda) to react. So you won’t actually need the vinegar IMHO as it does alter the taste. Alternatively, if you need more acid, one can always add yogurt, sour cream or chocolate. All have the acidity needed for Baking Soda.
Read my website on why vinegar or buttermilk is necessary.
http://onesmarttart.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/rising-to-baking-challenges/
Hai there,
I was wondering whether do you take orders?
Renu
0123651499
hmmm… sounds good but i have a recipe thats bit more genuine then this…
it is also a layerd cake but the middle is filled with nuts and wafers mixed with nutella which gives it a more origanal ferrero tatse!
will def try your recipe sometime tho.
Hey Renu, I’m afraid I don’t take orders. You’re welcome to try out this recipe though!
Hey, this recipe is a total fun to make. I love the two fillings. However, I ran into a little problem making the cake. I’m a novice at cooking/baking, but my girlfriend and I love ferrero rocher and nutella (so obviously this was a must!), so I chose to make this for our anniversary. When I made the cake, the sides got a little burned and the bottom was a little burned, but the middle needed at least 7 more minutes. Would this be my oven (temperature way too high), or my placing in the oven? I put it on the bottom-middle rack.
Oh, one other question. How come we had to chop up the lindt balls? Would they still have melted without chopping them?
hi,
just like to check with you for your ferrero rocher cake is it possible for me to place an order from you? it for my birthday on the 18th of august. please reply asap. thank you so much !! <333
nerdychef, u too free. one year later so long time can bother to make comment back