Ferrero Rocher Chocolate and Hazelnut Bundt

My Nordic Ware bundt pan addiction reached new levels of crazy in March when I went on holiday to Florida. It was my first time in the US and my son and my partner were both ridiculously excited about Disney World, Universal Studios, and all those types of places. What were my thoughts? They were along the lines of… “Yaaaaaaaayyyy America! The home of Nordic Ware! Bundt pans!!!!”

Nordic Ware are celebrating their 70th Anniversary and to mark the occasion brought out 3 new stunning gold pans. I really really really wanted these, especially the Crown pan, which I used for the big bundt in the picture. An afternoon going round shops in Florida proved fruitless. The only bundt pans I saw were ones I already had at home. I couldn’t bear the thought of coming home with no pans so in desperation I contacted the lovely people at Nordic Ware in America. To cut a long story short, they went to so much trouble to make sure I received the Crown and they displayed levels of customer service not often seen in companies in the UK. They also made sure there was one for my Bundt Twin Rob, who has a great blog you can find HERE.

As well as loving Nordic Ware so much, I also love Ferrero Rocher chocolates (who doesn’t!?) and Monin Syrups. I love using these syrups in baking and used them in  this No-Bake Rose and Pistachio Cheesecake and  this Black Forest Hot Chocolate Bundt Cake previously. I had a little bottle of their Hazelnut Syrup so decided to use that in this bundt.

This bundt is a chocolate and hazelnut cake with Ferrero Rochers baked in to it. It is covered with a delicious chocolate ganache and then finally sprinkled with chopped toasted hazelnuts. I used chopped hazelnuts to just decorate the bottom curves, then sprinkled ground hazelnuts all over the rest of the bundt, but you can decorate it as you please. When baking with Ferrero Rochers, they have a tendency to shrink as the outer coating melts into the cake. If you are making small quickly baked cakes such as cupcakes, freezing the chocolates before use prevents this and leaves a runny chocolate centre. However, as bundt cakes take much longer to bake the chocolates will shrink. They will still be visible when you cut the cake and most imortantly, they still taste exactly as they should. This recipe made enough cake mix to fill a 10 cup pan and then to make some Geo Bundlettes. You can use the remaining batter to make cupcakes if you want, or bundlettes.

FERRERO ROCHER CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUT BUNDT CAKE

250 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

190 g soft light brown sugar

190 g golden caster sugar

340 g plain flour

half level tsp bicarbonate of soda

half level tsp salt

1 level tsp baking powder

25 g cocoa powder

25 g ground hazelnuts

200 g milk or dark chocolate, or a combination of both, broken into pieces

4 large eggs, beaten

200 ml buttermilk

100 ml Monin Hazelnut Syrup

at least 10 Ferrero Rocher chocolates, frozen

FOR THE GANACHE:

300 ml double cream

250 g dark chocolate, or a combination of dark and milk chocolate, chopped into pieces

chopped or ground toasted hazelnuts, to decorate

• Preheat the oven to 170C/fan oven 150C. Grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan using your preferred method. (See extra information at the end of the recipe).
• In a large bowl, or using a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. This will take 5-10 minutes.
• In another bowl, sieve together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, baking powder, cocoa and ground hazelnuts, and mix well to thoroughly combine all the ingredients.
• Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir occasionally, and remove from the heat when it is nearly all melted. Continue stirring until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Leave to cool slightly.
• Mix the eggs, buttermilk and hazelnut syrup together in a large jug, then slowly add the cooled chocolate, stirring continuously.
• Pour half of the eggy chocolate mixture into the bowl with the butter and sugar and beat well until combined. Add half of the flour mixture, and again beat well. Pour the remaining half of the wet mixture into the bowl and continue beating until smooth, then use a large spoon or spatula to fold the remaining flour mixture in, until completely combined.
• Spoon the mix into the prepared bundt pan until the pan is half full. Arrange the Ferrero Rocher chocolates on the mixture, leaving a gap between each so the cake can rise around them.
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• Cover the chocolates with more cake batter until the pan is no higher than three quarters full. Place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Make sure you don’t push the skewer through a Ferrero Rocher!!! You’ll be able to feel where they are with the skewer.
• Remove from the oven and leave in the pan to cool for 10-15 minutes. Turn out on to a wire cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
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• To make the ganache, pour the double cream into a saucepan and heat gently until just starting to boil. Remove from the heat. Place the chocolate in a bowl, then pour the cream over it. Leave for a few minutes, then mix well until all the chocolate has melted and is smooth.
• Place a large tray or a piece of greaseproof paper under your cooling rack. Slowly pour the ganache all over the cooled bundt cake, making sure every part is covered. The tray underneath will catch the dripping ganache. Sprinkle with chopped or ground toasted hazelnuts and leave on the rack for a while to make sure it has finished dripping. Transfer to a serving plate or cake stand and enjoy!

EXTRA NOTES ABOUT BUNDTS

Two things have been causing quite a bit of conversation and debate regarding bundts. First is how to prepare the tin. I know of people who use melted butter and flour or cocoa to grease their pans with success, but my method of choice has to be to use Wilton Cake Release. You just shake the bottle well and use a pastry brush to brush it into all the details and every part of your pan. I have never known anyone to have a stuck bundt using this method.

The second thing I have been asked about is how to wash the pans. A few people are advising against using Fairy Platinum washing liquid, saying it strips the non-stick coating. I can honestly say I have only used that washing up liquid on all my pans and I have no problems. I think as long as you don’t leave them to soak (and if you use Cake Release you won’t need to) then in my personal experience there won’t be a problem. To wash pans, I put them in hot soapy water, then use a pastry brush to wipe every nook and cranny over. This removes any last traces of Cake Release and any little crumbs, so your pan is good as new again. Rinse well under hot running water and leave to dry.

Monin Syrups are available from Udal Supplies Ltd. or Next Day Coffee.

Wilton Cake Release is available from Lakeland, or Amazon, or most cake supplies shops.

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