Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate

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This cake is insanely good. I used the Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix made it with extra large eggs and I couldn't tell it was a box cake. But I could care less about the cake because the filling is amazing and takes center stage! Forget whipping the cream before mixing it with the cheese. Just put the mixing bowl in the frig 'til it's cold. You don't have to mix a lot, that's why others have curdled, 20 sec. or so. Just a note on the cheese, Trader Joes has it for $3. So no need to spend $11. The chocolate and orange zest topping is that little extra amazing flavor, too. Made right, this cake is amazing! Enjoy

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This was an excellent cake. Not difficult to make and very impressive looking. It is not overly sweet and sugary like most cakes. Instead it is rich and satisfying. The mascarpone cheese is expensive, but is the key ingredient in the filling and I can't imagine it would be quite the same with a substitute. I was wary of the ingredients separating so I whipped the cream first, then mixed the cheese and sugar together, and used the "stir" setting on my kitchenaid to fold in the whipped cream. It worked perfectly. Also used my own moist chocolate cake recipe instead of boxed. I used regular sugar (i.e., granulated to make the hazelnut crunch and it worked beautifully.

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I loved this cake, but fair warning.... You can't use regular sugar for the hazelnut brittle. I made this mistake and it didn't work, use course sugar. But I served this at a dinner party and people freaked out for it. I'm making it again this weekend.

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This recipe is so good and not overly sweet. Everyone loved it. Instead of doing the cake version, me and my sisters put the mix in cupcake liners and it's only half the recipe for the frosting. We used macadamia nuts instead of hazelnuts for the topping and it tastes even better. I used one container of the mascarpone cheese, and 1/2 the small tub of cool whip instead of whipping my own cream. Try it this way and you will see it's very simple. No need for the zest either. The kids enjoy helping as well.

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I've made this cake 2x and it was a big hit! The first time I made the crunch, it did not get hard so it came out "chewy". The second time I made it, I place it in the freezer, and it came out perfect. Everyone loved the frosting, esp the fact that it wasn't overly sweet. This is definately a keeper! Thanks, Giada!

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I made this cake from the book I received as a gift. The "crunch" or really carmel sugar candy did not have good instructions and if I had it to do again - I will not space the hazelnuts so close together. That way they will look more like the picture and a more glassy shiny candy. I broke up some large pieces and put it on top of the cake and the recipients were stunned and delighted. I think the frosting came out a bit thick but I used it anyway - and I always would. It tastes delicious!! I will definitely make this cake again.
Also - the hazelnuts are difficult to separate from the skins. It took a few times. And the crunch - took two batches. But I think this is a great recipe!

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Hello, this was my first time ever making a cake and i just wanted to let you all know it turned out terrific. My roommate ate more of it then i did. Ive heard people talking about how expensive the cake is so let me tell you what i done. I went to the Dollar Tree and got the vanilla extract,milk,whip cream,eggs, and a king size hershey bar for $5. Then I went to wal-mart and got duncan hines mix, chopped almonds,and cream cheese icing. Instead of that expensive cheese i just mixed the cream cheese icing together with the whip cream. Also since i dont have a blender i just used a vegetable shredder on the hershey bar also i shredded the hershey bar into the cake mix for a more richer taste. And I dont like hazelnuts, so i used the chopped almonds already packaged for $.92. Also i didnt use orange zest i just sprinkled my leftover almonds on top with my chocolate.And Ive got to tell ya i havnt had the real thing but, I know my way has to be 2nd best. Im going to make it next week for thanksgiving. Thanks Giada!

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So I read all the reviews and I over beat the frosting and it curdled. I took the advice and whipped the cream first and the problem with that was I did not whip it enough so that it was hard, I did try again and even though it was an expensive mistake it was well worth it!! Make sure to whip the cream till it is stiff. Once it is pretty stiff take the already mixed marscapone, powdered sugar and vanilla and fold it in. I did for 15 seconds at the end use the mixer on low to mix it all together.

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The time and effort that went into this cake were lost of us because of the bad directions. First, when you make the filling, it does not come to soft peaks, it doesn't make enough to frost the cake and go between the layers. Second, the directions say to fold in the crunch which on later inspection, the picture shows some of the crunch applies to the sides. This isn't the first time I have felt like some of the directions were missing or not well explained.

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Great dessert with some changes! first I could not imagine putting these gorgeous and expensive ingredients on top of a box cake, so I made a great light chocolate cake from scratch. The nut brittle seemed odd and directions not good so I omitted that. I spread a thin layer of Nutella on each layer and for the filling I combined room temp mascarpone with powdered sugar and vanilla and gently folded that into whipped cream with soft peaks. I used cold cream and cold bowl and it came out perfectly. The recipe says you can combine all the filling ingredients at once, that didn't seem right to me especially after reading all the other reviews. For a topping I put slivered almonds, chocolate chips, and a bit of powdered sugar in my food processor til it was crumbs and then I sprinkled that on top and the sides. Everybody raved and looks like it has been requested again for next week!!