Directions

Cake:

Ingredients

1 box chocolate cake
mix

Directions

Crunch:

Ingredients

1 cup (about 4 1/2-ounces) hazelnuts,
toasted and skinned
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Directions

Filling:

Ingredients

2 (8-ounce) containers
mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 cup cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Topping:

Ingredients

1/4 cup
bittersweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest

Directions

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour 2 (8-inch) cake pans. Prepare the cake mix according to package instructions. Divide the
batter between the 2 cake pans and bake according to package instructions. Remove from the oven and let cool
on a wire rack.

For the Crunch:
Place the toasted nuts close together in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine the sugar
and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the sugar mixture until dissolved. Bring to a boil
and let cook until the sugar is light brown, about 8 minutes. Let the bubbles subside then pour the
caramelized sugar over the nuts. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and let the sugar nut mixture cool
until hard, about 30 minutes. When the sugar nut mixture is hard and cool, top with another piece of parchment
paper and pound into small pieces, or place the sugar nut mixture on a cutting board and cut into small
pieces. Set aside.

For the filling:
Put the mascarpone cheese, cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric
mixer whip the cream mixture to soft peaks. Fold the Crunch mixture into the whipped cream.

For the topping:
Place the chocolate, sugar and zest in a food processor. Process the mixture until the chocolate is finely

ground.

To assemble the cake:
Put 1 cake on a serving plate. Top with 1-inch of the whipped cream crunch mixture. Top with the second layer
of cake and continue frosting the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream crunch mixture. Sprinkle the
top and sides of the cake with the ground chocolate. Serve.