Hazelnut Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Our Hazelnut Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting is a dream blend of warm, buttery, mellow-sweet flavors. Rich hazelnuts give the cake a pleasantly earthy note, and Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting blankets the cake in a layer of toffee-like deliciousness. This cake may look fancy, but the prep time is just 45 minutes!

• Next-level-moist cake: Nut flour ensures moist cake and a meltingly soft and tender crumb. When mixed with all-purpose flour, it achieves the perfect balance of lightness and satisfying texture.
• Outrageously good frosting: Toasty, buttery, slightly smokey caramel plays off the warm flavor of the hazelnut cake and elevates it with its nuanced sweetness. This fluffy buttercream is as pretty as it is yummy!

Nuts add another flavor element to baked goods, giving irresistibly complex flavor and texture that I adore. After you try this amazing Hazelnut Cake, check out our Flourless Chocolate Torte, Almond Flour Banana Bread, and Almond Flour Muffins Recipe with Applesauce.

Table of Contents

• What is Hazelnut Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting?
• Tools You Need
• Key Ingredients and Why
• How to Make Hazelnut Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting
• Can I Make this Hazelnut Cake in Advance?
• How to Store Leftovers
• FAQs
• Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
• More Layer Cake Recipes

What is Hazelnut Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting?

• Hazelnut Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting is a layer cake made with hazelnut flour and topped with a whipped buttercream flavored by salted caramel.
• The cake is made in three 6-inch (15.25-cm) cake pans. The resulting three layers of cake with two layers of filling create a tall cake with a grander, more celebratory look than typical two-layer cakes.
• Hazelnut cake originated in the Piedmont area of Italy, where the nuts are plentiful. Torta di Nocciole, a single-layer cake dusted with confectioners’ sugar, is a traditional dessert with ground hazelnut flour as a key ingredient. Our Hazelnut Cake is a layered, frosted, modern twist on this ancient recipe.

Tools You Need

• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Glass measuring jug
• Kitchen scale (optional)
• Stand mixer with a paddle attachment (optional) or an electric hand mixer
• Three 6-inch (15.25-cm) round cake pans
• Parchment paper
• Cake tester
• Wire rack
• Serrated knife
• Offset spatula

Key Ingredients and Why

• All-purpose flour

  • All-purpose flour has a protein content of 9-11%, which makes a cake that has enough gluten development to create a necessary structure but still has a tender crumb.

• Hazelnut flour

  • Hazelnut flavor is made from finely ground nuts. It has a rich flavor and is also high in fiber, healthy fats, and protein.
  • Feel free to substitute another nut flour, such as almond flour. You can make your own with our recipe, or use store-bought.

• Baking powder

  • Baking powder contains both an acid (cream of tartar) and a base (baking soda), which gives it leavening power even in a cake with non-acidic ingredients.
  • Learn more about baking powder and baking soda and how to make your own here.

• Butter

  • Make sure your butter is softened correctly so it’s easier to blend and aerate the batter.
  • Specifically, you’ll know it’s soft enough when you push the butter with your finger, and it makes an indent, but it doesn’t easily squish right through.

• Granulated sugar

  • Sugar sweetens the hazelnut cake.
  • Sugar is beaten with the butter until light and fluffy, which incorporates more air and keeps the cake from being dense.
  • Because sugar is hygroscopic, it attracts moisture from the liquid ingredients and holds it in after baking.

• Eggs

  • Eggs emulsify the cake ingredients, blending them into a cohesive batter. Additionally, they provide tenderness, aeration, emulsification, and structure.
  • Use large eggs at room temperature for the best results. Here’s how to warm up eggs from the fridge.
  • Alternatively, you can use silken tofu or mashed banana. For more details, look at our Best Egg Substitutes Chart.

• Vanilla extract

  • Vanilla extract brings an aromatic, sweet note to the cake.
  • Learn How to Make Your Own Vanilla Extract, and you’ll always have a supply on hand.

• Whole milk

  • Whole milk moistens the cake, giving it a tender and delicate crumb.
  • Milk also reacts with baking powder, giving the cake a light, airy rise.

• 1 recipe Salted Buttercream Frosting

How to Make Hazelnut Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

• Prep:
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter and line three cake pans with parchment paper.
• Make the batter: 
  • In a medium bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then beat in the vanilla.
  • Alternate adding the dry ingredient mixture and the milk into the wet ingredient mixture. Begin and end by adding the dry ingredient mixture.
• Bake the cake: 
  • Divide the cake batter evenly between the three cake pans.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let cakes cook in their pans for 10 minutes, and then turn cakes out onto a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.
• Assemble and frost: If your cakes are domed, use a serrated knife to slice the domes off.
  • Place a cake layer on a serving plate and top with a 3/4 cup (6 oz/170 g) of frosting. Spread evenly to edges.
  • Stack and fill the next cake layer.
  • Top with third cake layer, and cover the whole cake with a thin layer of frosting.
  • Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes.
  • Frost the entire cake with the remaining buttercream.

Can I Make this Hazelnut Cake in Advance?

Yes, you can make this Hazelnut Cake in advance.

• Bake and freeze cake layers: Wrap baked and cooled cake layers individually in plastic wrap, put in a freezer bag for additional protection, and freeze for up to three months. Defrost at room temperature before assembling.
• Bake and store cake layers in the refrigerator: Individually wrap baked and cooled cake layers and refrigerate for up to four days.
• Bake and store cake layers at room temperature: Individually wrap baked and cooled cake layers well and keep them at room temperature for up to two days.
• Assemble and frost cake ahead of time: 
  • Assemble and frost the cake.
  • Cover and keep at room temperature for up to two days or in the fridge for up to three days.
  • Note that storing the frosted cake at room temperature is not advisable if it is very warm in your kitchen.

How to Store Hazelnut Cake Leftovers

• • Cover the cake well and store it at room temperature for up to two days or in the fridge for up to three days.
  • Note that storing the frosted cake at room temperature is not advisable if it is very warm in your kitchen.

FAQs

• Can I use skim milk if I don’t have whole milk?

  • Yes, any kind of milk will work in this recipe, but skim milk is fat-free and has a higher water content than whole milk. Note that this difference may affect the texture and flavor of the cake.

• Can I make this cake egg-free?

  • Yes, you can make this cake egg-free. Flax egg and apple sauce from my Best Egg Substitutes Chart work very well.

• I don’t have the right-sized cake pans. Can I use a larger pan?

  • Yes, you can use larger pans. Note that the cake will be shorter and wider than your cake will be shallower and may have a shorter baking time.
  • Begin checking for doneness about three-quarters of the way through the minimum suggested bake time.

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips

• When making a cake, be sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature so they combine better.
• If you want to make your own hazelnut flour, simply grind hazelnuts in a food processor until fine. Be sure to stop before the mixture becomes an oily paste. Check out my post about making your own homemade nut flours.
• You can replace the hazelnut flour with another nut flour of your choice, either store-bought or homemade.
• To boost the hazelnut flavor, you can replace the vanilla extract with hazelnut liqueur.
• Instead of caramel buttercream, you can frost this with my Best Ever Chocolate Buttercream.

More Layer Cake Recipes

• Best-Ever Chocolate Cake with Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache 
• Stunning Tiramisu Layer Cake
• Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting
• Gemma’s Best-Ever Vanilla Birthday Cake
• Luxurious 24-Layer Chocolate Cake

Try These Recipes!

Best-Ever Yellow Cake With Whipped Ganache Frosting

Vanilla Almond Flour Yellow Cake Recipe

Classic Opera Cake Recipe

Classic Austrian Sacher Torte Recipe