Recipe: Hazelnut Fudge Torte

I found this recipe in one of my Hershey's cookbooks and made it for the first time on Christmas Eve. It was so scrumptious that I've been dreaming about it ever since. When we got invited over to our friend's for dinner last weekend, I had the perfect excuse to make it again. Sooooo yummy. My friend commented that it tasted like Nutella. Nutella = wicked.

I bought a huge bag of raw hazelnuts from Costco and roasted them in a single layer on a baking sheet for 30 minutes at 250 degrees. Then I rubbed all the skins off (and accidentally dumped them in the sink and clogged the drain. Whoops. Don't tell Alex.)

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup dairy sour cream
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
FUDGE NUT GLAZE (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch round baking pan; line bottom with wax paper. Grease paper; flour paper and pan.

2. Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, instant coffee, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add butter, sour cream, egg and vanilla; beat on low speed of electric mixer until blended. Increase speed to medium; beat 3 minutes. Spread batter in prepared pan.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack; gently peel off wax paper. Cool completely.

4. Prepare FUDGE NUT GLAZE.

5. Place torte on serving plate; pour glaze evenly over top, allowing some to run down sides. Refrigerate until glaze is firm, about 1 hour. Cover; refrigerate leftover torte. 8 to 10 servings.

FUDGE NUT GLAZE

1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1-1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Semi- Sweet Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup hazelnuts, macadamia nuts or pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients except nuts and vanilla in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes; stir in nuts and vanilla.

My Little Notes:

I used a 9-inch springform pan since it's easier to get the cake out. The glaze got way too thick when I followed the recipe's instructions the first time so I tweaked them a bit. I cooked the glaze for about 2-3 minutes and only let it cool for 2-3 minutes before adding the vanilla and nuts and pouring it over the torte.