As always in our house Autumn brings cooler weather and a spate of baking as I give in to a seemingly never ending demand for cake. As long as there is no request for fancy decoration I’m always happy to oblige. Naked, rustic offerings being my particular forte.
This coffee cake was an easy collaboration of the contents of my pantry. Jars of my mother’s home-made jam and bags of hazelnuts. I had envisaged throwing a handful of two of my favourite new food obsession cacao nibs into the crumble topping but sadly the packet was empty. A return visit by our elusive pantry raider Mr or Ms Nobody perhaps? No matter I used dutch process cocoa powder instead. The result? Gorgeous but very rustic. A true reflection of what Autumn baking should be about.
Hazelnut Coffee Cake With A Sour Cherry Jam Swirl And Chocolate Crumble
For the Cake Batter
200g unsalted butter, softened
200g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 pinch salt
125g (1 1/4 cups) self raising flour
110g (1 cup) ground hazelnut meal
30ml strong espresso coffee, cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Jam Swirl
1/2 cup sour cherry jam
For the Chocolate Crumble
50g butter, chilled and diced
4 tablespoons caster sugar
4 tablespoons self raising flour
2 tablespoons dutch process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup (40g) hazelnuts, roughly chopped
PREHEAT the oven to 180 C. Butter a 20cm square cake tin and line with greaseproof paper.
TO MAKE THE CRUMBLE TOPPING, using your fingertips, rub together the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir through the coarsely chopped hazelnuts and set aside.
IN A MEDIUM bowl combine ground hazelnut meal with self raising flour. Set aside.
BEAT the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
ADD egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
STIR through vanilla and cooled espresso coffee. Then fold in the hazelnut and flour mixture until just combined.
IN ANOTHER bowl, whisk the egg whites with salt until they form soft peaks.Fold the egg whites into the cake batter.
SPOON the batter into the prepared tin. Dollop jam all over the surface, then swirl into the batter with a spoon.
SPRINKLE chocolate crumble in an even layer over the top of the cake.
BAKE in preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes, until golden and well risen. A wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean and sides begin to pull away from the pan. Leave in the tin to cool for 10 minutes before turning out and cutting into squares.
The Paddington Foodie 
I’m a Sydneysider (North Shore) living in Sai Gon, Viet Nam and I think I’m just hurting myself looking at your blog posts.
I love my adopted home, but I haven’t had a decent Anzac biscuit/rustic bread/flat white coffee in a year.
Anyway, have fun with the baking!
It’s a decade since I last visited Viet Nam. Such a beautiful part of the world. I do remember being blown away by the French style patisseries and bakeries in Hanoi. I’ve enjoyed scrolling through your blog. It struck me that despite all the obvious modernisation and enthusiastic embrace of technology – culturally not a lot has really changed. After all this time I can still identify with most of the issues raised in your posts.
I’m in Sai Gon, which is on the other side of the country from Ha Noi, there is far less French influence. When I travel up there I do go a little crazy on the pastries.
If you were here 10 years ago, you just about wouldn’t recognise the place. There is a building site on most blocks in the middle of the city – we have one next to my work and I’m convinced they are going to push one of our common walls in.
I don’t think culture changes quickly anywhere, but the echoes of the past certainly ring loudly here.
You should visit again, it is a tremendous place to explore.
looks delicious! please visit my blog – posted about afternoon tea today! 🙂 http://enjoybypaula.wordpress.com
Reblogged this on Feast Wisely and commented:
Here I’m sharing a fantastic recipe from Tanja at The Paddington Foodie – yes I know it contains refined sugar but I’m so attracted by the combination of cherries, hazelnuts and coffee!
Hi Tanja, I LOVE this recipe – it’s got everything I look for in a treat. I think I’m going to give it a go but perhaps reduce or substitute the refined sugar! I just reblogged it at Feast Wisely too – http://feastwisely.com/2015/05/08/rustic-baking-at-its-best-hazelnut-coffee-cake-with-a-sour-cherry-jam-swirl-and-chocolate-crumble/
Thanks Laura. We loved this too – it disappeared in a blink of an eye. There is so much sweetness in the cake from the jam that it would be easy to cut down on the sugar in the cake batter.
Thanks Tanja – good tip. I also have some home pickled cherries that I thought I could use in place of the jam. Laura
We are alike. Naked, rustic offerings is my style of baking too. 🙂 Cacoa nibs are out of this world delicious! Definitely obsession worthy, as well as coconut manna, my new obsession. This really is a fabulous cake!
Imagine a coconut version of this. I did post a recipe for little coconut tea cakes a little while back – I think I paired them with a passionfruit butter cream. Thinking out loud that cake batter with cacao nibs would be divine – without the passionfruit butter cream of course.