Mocha Hazelnut Praline Bundt Cake with Espresso & Vanilla Bean Glaze
For as long as I can remember, I have baked my cakes in a Bundt pan. Not just any Bundt pan. It had to be one from Nordic Ware. The reason why is this. They just happen to make the BEST quality pans and each and every time I bake something in one of their products, it always turns out spectacular. I mean, SUPER SPECTACULAR.
Growing up, my three boys would always ask me to make their birthday cake in a Bundt pan. In fact, they still love it when I bake their celebration cake in the same pan as I used when they were little. And, they still ask me to slather on gummy bears all over the fluffy chocolaty icing. Who is almost 30 and still has gummy bears on their cake? Yes, boys will be boys.
For the past 70 years, Nordic Ware has been a family owned and operated company, Nordic Ware has proudly produced quality kitchenware products, primarily made in the United States of America. From humble beginnings, Nordic Ware has become an internationally distributed brand with a variety of collections, hundreds of products and millions of fans. One of which is ME!
In celebration of their 70 years in business, Nordic Ware released three new unique shapes in a special gold-metallic finish, never seen before in bakeware. Along with the new collection, they are also launching contests and other events throughout the year to celebrate! Woo wee!!!!
I’m truly honoured to be part of this celebration, and couldn’t wait to create a new recipe in this magnificent crown shaped pan.
And let’s just stop for a moment, to admire this pan. LOOK AT THIS!
Could it be any more stunning? I don’t think so. It exudes the essence of a Scandinavian heritage and the best part is….it’s gold and sparkly!
In two words: SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL
I was actually just tempted to skip the cake and wear it on my head but that didn’t go over too well with my family…….because they WANTED CAKE!
And what a cake this turned out to be. I took my cue from royalty and created coated fondant leaves with gold dust, then mixed up my usual vanilla cake recipe with the addition of cocoa and coffee. When I stuck the leaves on I decided that they took away from the beauty of the cake and quickly plucked them off. Not all my ideas are brilliant ones.
The end result was this glorious mocha hazelnut flavoured batter and even though it really didn’t need anything more, I topped it off with a black and white espresso vanilla bean glaze and hazelnut crunch topping.
Do you know what it’s like to skin what seems to be a zillion hazelnuts? Oh it’s fun. Really really fun. I ended up handling each and every one of those stupid nuts and they were as stubborn as a donkey to peel.
Then to top it all off, I ended up doing a praline glaze for the nuts. So technically, I undressed them and dressed them again. A bit of work, but absolutely worth it.
Happy 70th Anniversary Nordic Ware! Here’s to another 70 Bundtiful years!
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup finely ground hazelnuts
- ¾ cup baking cocoa (I used Ghirardelli)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 x-large eggs
- ½ cup strong brewed coffee or espresso
- 1 cup buttermilk, full fat milk or almond milk
- ½ cup greek yogurt or sour cream
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
- In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Add the eggs, coffee, buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes (batter will be thin). Pour into a greased and floured 10 inch bundt pan.
- Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar or make the glaze and topping below.
- The Espresso Glaze
- 1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 2-3 Tablespoons strong brewed coffee
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- The Vanilla Bean Glaze
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 2-3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- Prepare glazes:
- Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into whole milk. Let sit in a container for about an hour. Add confectioners' sugar gradually, whisking, until you get desired consistency--about 1 cup.
- You don't want this too runny, or it won't dry white on the cake. Keep whisking it, and it might feel too thick at first, but don't give up until you get your desired thickness. If you still feel it's too thick, add a a few drops of the vanilla milk. Set aside and make the next glaze.
- Stir together espresso powder and 2 tablespoons coffee in a bowl until powder is dissolved. Add confectioners' sugar and stir until well combined. If glaze is not pourable, thin with remaining coffee.
- Drizzle both glazes over cake and top with *praline hazelnuts (recipe below)
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup hazelnuts toasted lightly and skinned
- Lightly oil a baking sheet.
- In a heavy saucepan cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork, until melted and cook, without stirring, swirling pan, just until a golden caramel. Add hazelnuts, stirring until coated well. Immediately pour mixture onto baking sheet and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Remove praline from baking sheet and break into pieces.
Disclaimer: this post was sponsored by Nordic Ware, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. #nordicware70
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what is it !! it’s the real or plastic torta>>>!!*L*)))))
Thank you Traci! I’m dedicating this cake to you! Miss Vanilla Bean. Xo debi
Pam. You’re gonna love it! Enjoy! Xo debi
Bravo,What a truly Beautiful Bundt.I have managed to secure one on a pre-order when the pan is released.I can hardly wait.I Love Nordic Ware Bundt Pans and feel very lucky to have a great collection.Will try your lovely recipe when my pan arrives….xxx
Looks like I need to amp up my bundt pan collection…! This is simply divine Debi, and that you peeled each and every hazelnut is a testament to your love of beautiful and delicious food. What a stunningly gorgeous cake my dear! You know you had me a Vanilla Bean.. but then the mocha and hazelnuts? WoW!
Hi Vivian! You have a couple of choices here. 1. You can just leave that ingredient out…it will still taste great or 2. You can sub in coconut yogurt. I believe it’s dairy free. I buy mine at the health food store. Enjoy! Xo debi
Hi,
Looks delicious! how can I sub the yogurt/ sour cream to make it dairy free?
Thank you Rebecca! I made two of these on the weekend. The girls at my office told me that they have a love/hate relationship with me now. LOL. I’m a little obsessed with this crown pan. It’s STUNNING! xoxo debi
Debiiii — this is beautiful!!! And YESSS to the bundt cake and Nordic Ware…gorgeous.
PS My mom makes me a chocolate bundt for my birthday every year — it’s the best. xoxo