Nono's Mocha Praline Cake
- 1 cup shelled hazelnuts
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
- 2 tablespoons instant espresso
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 3 cups strong brewed coffee
- Two 7-ounce packages dry ladyfingers (48)
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Lightly oil a baking sheet.
- On another rimmed baking sheet, toast the hazelnuts for 8 minutes, or until fragrant and golden brown.
- Let them cool, then rub the hazelnuts in a kitchen towel to remove the skins.
- In a medium skillet, sprinkle the hazelnuts with 1/4 cup of the sugar.
- Cook over moderate heat, without stirring, until the sugar melts and browns, about 2 minutes.
- Stir to coat the hazelnuts with the caramel and scrape out onto the oiled baking sheet.
- Let the hazelnuts cool and harden, then break them into pieces.
- Reserve 10 whole hazelnuts for garnish.
- Transfer the rest of the nuts to a food processor and grind them to a coarse powder.
- In a small bowl, dissolve the instant espresso in the water.
- In a large, stainless steel bowl, beat the heavy cream until thickened.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the dissolved espresso and beat until soft peaks form.
- Refrigerate 1 cup of the whipped cream.
- Put the coffee in a large shallow bowl.
- Moisten 12 of the ladyfingers in the coffee, lightly dipping each side, and arrange them side by side on the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Break a few of the ladyfingers if necessary to completely cover the bottom of the pan.
- Spread one-fourth of the espresso whipped cream over the ladyfingers and sprinkle with one-fourth of the hazelnut praline.
- Repeat with the remaining ladyfingers, whipped cream and praline.
- Refrigerate the cake until firm, about 1 hour.
- Warm a thin knife under hot water and run it around the inside of the ring of the springform pan.
- Remove the ring.
- Using a spatula, spread the reserved 1 cup of espresso whipped cream around the top and side of the cake.
- Garnish with the reserved whole hazelnuts.
- Cut into wedges and serve.
hazelnuts, sugar, espresso, water, heavy cream, coffee, ladyfingers
Taken from www.foodandwine.com/recipes/nonos-mocha-praline-cake (may not work)