Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Friends and Family Feast

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (79)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(79)

Cook Time:
30 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
8 servings

Times:

Prep: 1 hr 0 min
Inactive Prep: 30 min
Cook: 30 min
Total:: 2 hr 0 min

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Ingredients

Cake:

1 box chocolate cake mix

Crunch:

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

Filling:

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

Topping:

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

For the cake:

Directions

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.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate
Silvia Watertown, MA 10-05-2009
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Great recipe
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Thanks to Giada, I became well known for my cakes! Every time I make this cake, people LOVE it and I made it MANY times... already. Suggestions: I find Pillsbury's Moist Supreme Devil's Food cake mix to make the cake taste the best and I use BelGioioso mascarpone available everywhere. On occasions when I couldn't find this cake mix, the cake tasted as an ordinary supermarket cake, which I didn't like. Thank you Giada for a wonderful recipe!Read more
recipe Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate
Marlene jackson, MI 09-23-2009
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Nothing but FANTASTIC
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I bake and decorate all kinds of cakes and this cake is just the greatest ever!!! I followed it exact, the crunch turned out... great, but I did make one little change, I also added three Heath Bar candy bars crushed up with the crunch. if you're going rich, go the whole way. Wonderful wonderful wonderful thanks MarleneRead more
recipe Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate
Rebecca Lakewood, CO 09-10-2009
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Fantastic First Birthday Cake
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Everybody loved it. Do make sure you let your cream and mascarpone come to room temperature first. It makes a big... differnce. My daughter absolutely loved it, and so did the grown up guests.Read more
recipe Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate
mandy Jacksonville, FL 09-07-2009
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Butterfinger Modification!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I followed this recipe, but considering all of the comments about the hazelnut crunch, I instead just crushed some... butterfingers in the blender and mixed it in with the cheese. Turned out great! Since I used butterfinger, I did not use the orange zest. Seemed to save a lot of hassle, messing with the hazelnut crunch.Read more
recipe Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate
Jacqueline knoxville, TN 08-23-2009
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i think i chipped a tooth on that sugary glass known as, 'crunch'
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

i'm a big fan of giada's but i don't think i'll ever make this cake again. it was pretty expensive, time consuming, not to... mention i think i chipped a tooth on that sugary glass known as, "crunch". for you who hasn't yet tried it i would make a couple modifications that could save you money, calories, and a trip to the dentist. first, i would probably only use 1 8 oz. tub of mascarpone cheese. then i would sub the "crunch" for a broken up candy bar such as heath or skor, etc. the only great thing about this cake i thought was the chocolate chips with orange zest topping. it would be great incorporated into other cakes. well, giada, you typically 'wow' me, but not with this one....Read more
recipe Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate
Emi Poulsbo, WA 08-20-2009
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Great frosting!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I loved everything about this cake except for the hazelnut crunch. I personally just didn't really care for the crunch. I... also didn't like the chocolate orange topping. It made mine kind of ungly (he he). But i absolutely LOVED the cake and icing! Oh! That mascarpone is the best! Read more