Hazelnut Chocolate Ricotta Tea Cakes
I made these hazelnut chocolate ricotta tea cakes a couple of months back, and I have to say, I’ve rarely been more surprised by a dessert. There are few more classic combinations than hazelnut and chocolate, of course, and the ricotta may sound like an unusual addition, but it was a smart choice and I’ll explain why.
The majority of the flour in these cakes comes from roasted and processed hazelnuts, with almond flour and just a touch of wheat flour to give the cakes a little more structure. Nut flours, of course, are very dense, which is why I was expecting these cakes to be something akin to a bran muffin or some other stodgier bake, but the addition of the ricotta, along with the whipped egg whites, gave them a great balance. I can’t take credit for that idea, though, as this recipe is very slightly adapted from one I found in Ottolenghi’s cookbook Sweet.
Overall, these are a great little unique treat hearty enough to help you welcome cooler weather, just sweet enough to call a dessert, but also not so outrageous that you would feel ridiculous eating them, in fact, like a bran muffin, for breakfast or brunch. (This is the second post in a row where I’ve said that, but working with more decadent desserts like brownies, cookies and buttercream frosted cakes all day at the bakery sometimes leaves me longing for desserts that are a little less sweet and a little more balanced — which is where blog bakes come in.)
I will say, they sound like more trouble than they actually are, in my opinion, as Ottolenghi recipes often do, but they aren’t too finicky, especially if you opt to bake them out in a muffin tin instead of using the 3-inch ring molds like I did. Greasing and lining those was probably the most finicky part. But the result was definitely worth it, and in my opinion, they don’t even necessarily need the ganache topping — they taste amazing as is, straight out of the oven.
I hope you guys are all doing well — I know these posts have been a little impersonal (although I’m told most people like that, we all know it’s not my usual style). I’m just trying to get on a schedule and stick to it for a while, even if that means being straight to the point. I’m also posting a lot more over on Instagram with a little more daily life type stuff, so find me over there @followtherivernorth if that’s more your speed. In the meantime, let me know if you decide to try out this recipe and how you liked it. Or just drop me a line to let me know how you are.
Hazelnut Chocolate Ricotta Tea Cakes
Notes
*If you live in Korea, where ricotta is prohibitively expensive, you can also just make your own using this technique. That’s what I did for these cakes, and one carton of milk will make just enough ricotta for this recipe.
Ingredients
Tea Cakes
- 300g hazelnuts
- 3 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 160g chocolate
- 100g almond flour
- 1 cup butter room at room temperature, cubed
- 250g sugar
- 6 eggs, separated
- 225g ricotta*
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 70g chocolate
- 60g coconut cream
- hazelnuts reserved from above (see directions)
Instructions
- Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 350F (180C) for ten minutes. Set aside 50g for sprinkling on top of the ganache. Let the hazelnuts cool to room temperature.
- While you wait, grease 12 3-inch molds and line them with parchment paper. Place them evenly spaced onto a cookie sheet also lined with parchment paper. Alternatively, grease the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
- Place the 250g of hazelnuts into a food processor with the chocolate, almond flour and regular flour and process until you have an even mixture. Some large chunks of chocolate are fine, but the hazelnuts should be well processed.
- Cream together the sugar and butter. Add one egg yolk at a time and continue to cream until the mixture is smooth and bright yellow.
- Add the salt and the vanilla and mix until incorporated, and then add the flour and chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir until it is just combined.
- In a clean, dry bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- Add a spoonful of the whites to the other mixture and stir through to loosen it, and then add the rest of the whites and fold them in just until you no longer see streaks of white.
- Spoon the mixture into the 12 rings or muffin molds, filling them very nearly to the top. Bake the cakes until they are golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean — about 25-30 minutes.
- Once the cakes have cooled and been removed from the molds, melt together the chocolate and coconut cream for the ganache topping using a double boiler or the microwave. (If you’re using a microwave, do 30 seconds on the first round and continue in 10-second increments after that, checking each time to see if the chocolate has melted.)
- Place the hazelnuts for topping into a plastic baggie and use a rolling pin to crush them into good sized pieces. If some are still whole, that’s fine, too.
- Spoon the ganache over the cakes and sprinkle the hazelnuts on top. These cakes are best eaten right away, of course, but will keep in the fridge for a couple of days and in the freezer for up to a week.
