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Chocolate and hazelnut torte with honey praline ganache Recipe

This chocolate nutty cake is less sweet than you might expect as its not using any refined sugars.

Chocolate and hazelnut torte with honey praline ganache Recipe
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Ingredients

For the Praline Paste
  • 90 g hazelnut butter (see recipe for nut butters)
  • 90g almond butter (or see recipe for nut butters)
  • 20 g raw honey
  • 20 g Palmyra nectar powder
  • ¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt
For the Chocolate & Hazelnut Torte
  • 160g hazelnuts, preferably activated dried
  • 100g homemade chocolate (see Clean Cakes recipe) or dark chocolate 85% cocoa solids
  • 100g coconut oil
  • 100g praline paste (see above)
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 50g Palmyra nectar powder
For the Honey Praline Ganache
  • 90g homemade chocolate (see Clean Cakes recipe) or dark chocolate 85% cocoa solids
  • 120g (the rest of the) praline
  • 100ml hazelnut milk (see recipe for nut milks)
  • 35g raw honey

We’re very grateful to Henrietta Inman for letting us share a couple of recipes from her new book Clean Cakes. For more information please visit: www.henscleancakes.co.uk

“A chocoholic’s delight! Instead of using shop-bought praline or chocolate and hazelnut spread, both packed with refined sugar, I make my own praline paste using nut butters and natural sweeteners. It adds a really pure nutty flavour and texture to this rich and decadent cake without making it sickly sweet.”

Serves 10-12

Method

01
Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Grease and line the bottom of a 23 cm (9 inch) springform cake tin with coconut oil.
02
To make the homemade praline paste, mix everything together well and set aside.
03
To make the torte, line a baking tray and toast the hazelnuts for about 7 minutes.
04
Set aside 60 g (2 oz/scant ½ cup) of the hazelnuts for the topping. Remove the skins from the remaining hazelnuts and blitz in a food processor until as fine as possible.
05
Slowly melt the chocolate over a bain-marie, then add the coconut oil. When everything has melted, remove from the heat and add the measured praline paste. Stir to combine. Add the ground nuts, egg yolks, half the salt and the vanilla extract to the chocolate mix.
06
Whip the egg whites with the remaining salt until fully whipped and firm, add the Palmyra nectar powder and whip a little more to combine. You should have soft caramel-coloured peaks. Very gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mix, about a third at a time. Mix until just combined and do not overmix – it should look like a light chocolate mousse.
07
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 10 minutes, rotate and bake for another 5minutes. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean, the top should be light but firm to touch, and you should hear air bubbles popping when you touch it. Leave to cool in the tin then demould.
08
To make the ganache, melt the chocolate over a bain-marie. Take off the heat and stir in the praline paste. In a small saucepan, warm the hazelnut milk with the honey. When it is warm and the honey has dissolved, gradually pour it over the chocolate, stirring continuously until a thick and glossy emulsion forms. Cover the surface with baking parchment and leave in a cool place for about 1 hour until the cake has completely cooled and the ganache has thickened.
09
Stir the ganache lightly and spread it over the cooled cake using a palette knife(frosting spatula). For a firmer set ganache, just leave it for a little longer. Chop the remaining hazelnuts in half, scatter them over the ganache and serve.
10
This torte is lovely with whipped vanilla coconut cream (see page 27) and keeps for up to five days in the fridge. It freezes well too, with the ganache on top!
11
Recipe and images extracted from Clean Cakes by Henrietta Inman, photography by Lisa Linder. Published by Jacqui Small (£20).