CHOCOLATE HAZLENUT MOUSSE CAKE.... for World Nutella Day.

So, once again I am going to talk about friendship ,beyond 'borders',in this case, I mean borders of states :) Avanika  and myself, we live in 2 different far-off states but, we have a lot of things in common, first being the love for food! I must describe her as a wacky, full -of- life 19 yr old passionate food blogger. And I must mention something else too, I am terribly jealous of her...she is SO young! Gosh, as my b'day is approaching (oh! it's actually 3 months away! ) I feel I am growing OLD! But, Jobin's b'day comes before mine, so I am better off! :P

Thank you Av ( as I always mention her on my twitter /chat msgs) SO much for accepting to 'feed' my ever - so -hungry blog! Now, it's not just the blog, it's the owner too! I am on a diet you see! ;) Because I am left with exactly 9 days more!



HAPPY WORLD NUTELLA DAY!!! This is by far, my most favorite holiday! I could literally LIVE on Nutella alone, so I just HAD to celebrate it. I've gifted my close friends jars of Nutella today, that's how much I love this day. And my aerobics instructor is absolutely loathing this day! :P For creating this wonderful holiday, I have to thank Sara and Michele.



Wait a minute now, ofcourse you're wondering who I am, and why you should listen to me gushing about Nutella so much! A little intro seems appropriate - I'm Avanika, fellow food blogger from Yumsilicious Bakes, and I like to consider myself as Ria's good friend, even though I never met her, we share a bond, and we talk about soo much stuff, it's weird!

Since she is getting married, in less than 2 weeks, she asked me to do a guest post, or 'feed' her blog. The very idea of guest posting scares me, I think, who'll want to listen to little old me? That's why I rejected 2 previous offers of doing guest posts, but when Ria asked me, I knew this was the time where I needed to step up. This is my small way of making her wedding a little bit easier! And plus, even if I screw it up, I know she'll still be my friend. Right Ria? :P

So in honour of Ria's upcoming marriage [CONGRATULATIONS Ria and Jobin], my first ever guest post, and World Nutella Day, I knew I had to go all out, and decided to make this fabulous cake. And fabulous it is. The silky smoothness of the mousse hits you first, after which the creaminess of the ganache combines, both of which are perfectly balance by the crusty base. It's an explosion of textures, right in your mouth :) I am so glad I made this, it's perfect for the occasion. I'm just going to give you the recipe now, so you can make it immediately.


Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake
Adapted from Epicurious

For shortbread base -

2 tbsp [30 g] hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off
3 tbsp [70 g] sugar
1/2 cup [80 g] all-purpose flour
1/2 stick [1/4 cup, 55 g] unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp [20 g] unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt

Special Equipment
8-Inch Springform Pan



Instructions -

1. Preheat oven to 350 F [180 C]. Line the springform with parchment paper.
2. Pulse the toasted hazelnuts and sugar in a food processor until finely ground.
3.  Add the flour, butter, cocoa and salt, pulse together until a dough forms.
4. Press the dough onto the bottom of the pan, and prick with a fork.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes [mine took 17]. Cool pan on wire rack.
6. This step is important for convenience, once the base is cool, lift it off the pan, take out the parchment paper, and put it back onto the pan.

For mousse

• 1 tsp unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz envelope)
• 3 tbsp cold water
• 1/2 cup [5 oz] Nutella
• 1/2 cup [100 g] mascarpone
• 1 1/2 cups [200 g] chilled heavy cream
• 2 tbsp [20 g] unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp [70 g] sugar

Instructions -

1. Once the crust is in the oven, begin making the mousse. In a large bowl, combine the gelatine and water, heat on the stove until all granules of gelatin dissappear. Whisk in the Nutella, take it off the heat.
2. Whisk in the mascarpone until combined.
3. Whisk together the cream, cocoa and sugar until soft peaks form. Whisk 1/3 of this cream into the nutella mixture, and then gently fold in the rest.
4. Spoon over the cooled crust, refrigerate until set [3-4 hours].

For ganache

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 1/2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Instructions -

1. Heat the cream over the stove in a small bowl, until it boils
2. Immediately pour this over the chopped chocolate, stir to combine. The chocolate will slowly melt with the heat of the cream.
3. Let this mixture stand for a while, about 20 minutes, for it to thicken. Make sure not to let it rest for too long, it may become too thick.
4. Remove the cake from the springform pan, slide onto a serving plate.
5. Pour the gananche over the mousse layer once its set perfectly, allowing some to drip over the sides. Don't hurry this step up, since the weight of the ganache will collapse your unset mousse, which is kind of what happened to me.
6. Serve, and ENJOY :)

BURP! Sorry! ;) I really loved this dessert! I am sure Jobin would love it too! Thank you Av! Mwwahhh!