I absolutely love cakes, especially chocolate ones! I often make a chocolate cake that can be combined with walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds—depending on what you like. It’s not complicated (it was originally, but I adjusted it to save time).
Cake Layers:
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder to taste
- 1 packet vanilla sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- A small amount of water or milk (to adjust the consistency of the batter)
- Optional: A splash of rum or rum extract (if using extract, add less than half the bottle)
Beat the eggs with sugar, then add oil, flour, cocoa powder, vanilla sugar, and baking powder. Once mixed, you’ll get a thicker batter. Add a little water or milk to loosen it up, then bake the layers in a preheated oven. Once they are baked and cooled, slice the cake into three layers (sometimes I manage to get four layers).
Filling: For the filling, cook 3 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks in a double boiler (or a saucepan on very low heat—low enough that you can place your palm on the burner). Keep stirring constantly to avoid the eggs cooking too fast and creating lumps. Once the mixture thickens, add cooking chocolate (the recipe calls for 2 bars, but I usually add almost the entire bar because I love chocolate flavor), vanilla sugar, a splash of rum, sugar to taste, and 150g of ground walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds—whichever you prefer. Once the mixture cools, add 180g (about 3/4 cup) of softened butter.
Before filling the layers, I warm up some milk and add a teaspoon of sugar (again, sugar to taste) and a little rum. Use this milk mixture to lightly soak the cake layers, then add the filling. Sometimes, before filling, I add a bit of whipped cream (about 200 ml). Spread a thin layer of cream, followed by the filling, then alternate layers of cake and filling until you’re done.
Finally, finish with a generous chocolate glaze.
You can also use a whipped cream glaze or decorate it however you like. I usually decorate with chopped walnuts or almonds along the sides, and sometimes I add whole walnut halves or almond slices on top—depending on what I’m using.
I hope you enjoy it (everyone in my family loves it, and I especially do!). It’s not complicated to make at all—promise!
