Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Everyone in my family, except for my dad is a chocoholic. Sadly there are no meetings for people addicted to such a hard drug so we just continue to binge on anything chocolate, including Nutella.

Now, look at that cake. Would you turn down this cake? Yeah, I didn't think so. When I saw it on Tasty Kitchen I couldn't say no either. This cake is unbelievably moist and has now replaced my jazzed up box mix as my favorite chocolate recipe. For the frosting I took Martha Stewart's Dark Chocolate Frosting recipe and replaced the melted chocolate with Nutella, which worked perfectly. Chopped hazelnuts are the finishing touch to this super decadent dessert. Try it, although I'm warning you now, it may make you crave chocolate day and night*.

*Disregard that last note if you have day and night chocolate cravings already.

Chocolate Cake (adapted from Eat, Drink, and Be Merry blog)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup dark cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp espresso powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 stick butter, softened

2 large eggs, room temp.

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup lukewarm water

1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 3 7" cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugars together until light an fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined. Add the vanilla and mix.

3. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the water/buttermilk beginning and ending with flour. Beat after every addition. Mix for 30 seconds until all remaining flour is incorporated into the mixture. The batter will be runny, but that's what you should expect. Pour the batter evenly between the three cake pans.

4. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan. The cakes will shrink slightly during cooling making it super easy to take out of the pan.

Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting (adapted from Martha Stewart)

1/4 dark cocoa powder

1/4 boiling water

2 sticks plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Nutella

*I scaled down the recipe because there was no way I was going to use 4 sticks of butter in a frosting recipe, no matter how much it made.

1. Dissolve the cocoa powder in the boiling water and let cool to room temperature.

2. Beat the butter until light and creamy, 1-2 minutes. Add the confectioner's and salt and beat until combined. Add the nutella and continue to beat until mixture is uniform. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes to make it easier to decorate with.

Assembling the cake:

1. After the cakes are cooled, use a serrated knife to cut the domes off of each layer. Take the first layer and place it on the cake board. Spread a thin layer of Nutella over the cake. Take your frosting our of the fridge and with an offset spatula spread a layer of frosting over the Nutella.

2. Add the second layer of cake continuing with Nutella and frosting. On the top layer just add the frosting. Frost the entire cake. Take some chopped hazelnuts and sprinkle them on the top of the cake. Refrigerate until serving.