Birthday Cake

This year, for my birthday treat, I decided to combine two of my loves: chocolate and hazelnut. The result? A delicious chocolate hazelnut frosting cake that still has my mouth watering. Hazelnut's not your thing, no worries. Simply substitute your favorite nut butter for the homemade hazelnut butter (yes you heard me right, I'll be showing you how to make a simple, yet scrumptious hazelnut butter!), or, just substitute the hazelnuts for your go-to nut and still make your own nut butter. Those of you up to the challenge, will be rewarded with a more flavorful frosting! 

The Ingredients. (Yes, I know I'm using boxed cake mix, but I'm doctoring
 it up  just  like a certain someone did with this pretty darn good cake)

Start by pre-heating the oven to 350 degrees and, for those of
you making the hazelnut butter, boiling 6 cups of water with 9
tablespoons of baking soda. Then add 3 cups of whole hazelnuts.
This will help loosen up the hazelnut skins.

After 3 minutes drain and move the nuts to a ice bath.

The skins should slip off easily now.

Next, dry the peeled nuts off, spread them out on a baking sheet,
 and pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes.

For the cake, simply mix together the cake mix, instant pudding,
4 eggs, 1/2 cup of warm water, cup of sour cream, cup of vegetable
oil, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and teaspoon of salt.

For a little extra something you can also fold in a cup of chocolate chips

and 1/2 cup of chopped hazelnuts.

Line 2 9-inch cake rounds, divide the cake batter evenly, and
 cook those in the same 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Look at those perfectly golden hazelnuts! Can you practically
smell that nutty aroma?

Transfer the hazelnuts, or nut of your choice to a blender
 or food processor 

and grind them into a fine dust.

Add in 3 tablespoons of either vegetable or peanut oil to start off,
 and then add more in one tablespoon increments until you get the
desired consistency.

I used 5 tablespoons of peanut oil to get this slightly dry hazelnut
 butter. This consistency will work fine once incorporated into the
 frosting, and will actually give it a more concentrated nutty flavor,
but if you're making a little extra homemade butter, or want a
smoother consistency, feel free to add more oil. And for those of
you working with other nuts, make sure to still start off with 3
tablespoons of oil and then work in one tablespoon increments, as
some nuts have a higher fat content than others and will contain more
 moisture. (Whew! That was a mouthful)

Now to make the frosting! Start by creaming 10 tablespoons
(1 1/4 sticks) of butter with two cups of your preferred nut butter.

Then incorporate 2 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar. (A little hint:
try using  slightly less sugar if working with a store-bought nut butter,
as those have sugar added in and this homemade kind doesn't).

To finish, mix in 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract, 3/4 teaspoon of salt,
and 2/3 cup of heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy.

Once an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly from the cakes,
they're done and you're ready to start assembling!

You can stop here, or coat the cake with some cocoa powder or
shaved chocolate for a little extra flavor and color!

There you go, the perfect gift for anyone's birthday! (because who doesn't love chocolate and nuts?) 

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake Recipe:

Ingredients:

For the Cake

1 16.5 ounce package chocolate cake mix

1 5.9 ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (optional)

For the Hazelnut Butter

3 cups whole hazelnuts

6 cups water

9 tablespoons baking soda

5 tablespoons (approx.) vegetable or peanut oil

For the frosting

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)

2 cups hazelnut butter

2 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar

1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup heavy cream

Garnish(Optional): Shaved chocolate or cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 9-inch cake rounds by lining them with parchment paper and greasing them.

2. Boil the hazelnuts in 3 cups of water and 9 tablespoons of baking soda for 3 minutes.

3. Remove the hazelnuts to an ice bath, remove the skins, dry the nuts, and bake them for 15 minutes.

4. Make the cake batter by mixing the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, sour cream, oil, vanilla and salt together. Then, if you want, fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the rounds and bake them for 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly.

6. Make the hazelnut butter by blending or processing the nuts into a dust, then adding 3 tablespoons of oil, plus more in one tablespoon increments until the desired consistency is reached.

7. Make the frosting by creaming the unsalted butter and hazelnut butter with the confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and salt. Finish by whipping in the cream until the frosting is light and fluffy.

8. Assemble the cake and garnish with cocoa powder or shaved chocolate, if desired.