Hazelnut cake without flour. Pure taste and aroma. Naturally a simple recipe. I use hazelnuts with no treatment, almost wild, in fact the few left; between roe deer feeding on tender shoots, squirrels and wild boars having feasts, we carefully store what’s left; if you want a high-quality product, some sacrifice is necessary. And they must feed too — of course if I had to farm them for income I would certainly put nets to protect the harvest, but that doesn’t apply to squirrels and dormice.

In the Langa region the hazelnut cake is one of the most appreciated offerings; there are also the brutti e buoni and lady kisses (baci di dama) made with hazelnuts. Much of the local economy revolves around this fruit and cultivating hazelnuts becomes a real enterprise.

Egg whites whipped to stiff peaks, yolks beaten with sugar and then the magic…

For other recipes with this wonderful ingredient:

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Cooking time: 30 Minutes
Portions: 2 cakes, 8 in
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients Hazelnut Cake without Flour and without Butter

10.6 oz (about 3 1/8 cups) hazelnut flour (toasted)
5.3 oz (about 3/4 cup) granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon cornstarch (maizena)
1 pinch salt

Useful tools Hazelnut Cake without Flour and without Butter

For all the other tools I use in my kitchen see my buying tips

Food chopper
Stand mixers

Steps Hazelnut Cake without Flour and without Butter

First prepare the hazelnut flour — not too finely ground. Separate the yolks from the whites; add a pinch of salt to the whites and then whip them to stiff peaks.
Meanwhile, beat the yolks with the sugar and the cornstarch, then gently fold in the well-beaten egg whites.
Transfer the batter to the pan. I recommend placing a round of parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 356 °F for about 30 minutes. The cake’s volume will almost double.
Wait until it is cold before slicing.
It keeps for a few days, but since it contains no added fat apart from the eggs it will be slightly drier.