Hazelnut Torte with Vanilla Pastry Cream and Whipped Frosting

A few days ago, I made this Hazelnut Torte with Vanilla Pastry Cream and Whipped Frosting - the good news is that the cake really turned out delicious and a bonus was that it wasn't a ton of work!

What we really liked about it is that the whole cake wasn't too sweet - just light and nutty with a little hint of fruitiness.  

The torte consisted of hazelnut chiffon cake, was filled with vanilla pastry cream and strawberry filling (I actually used strawberry freezer jam - it was perfect).  The entire cake was then frosted with a very light whipped cream frosting. 

A perfectly light spring dessert!

Hazelnut Torte with Vanilla Pastry Cream and Whipped Frosting

Hazelnut Chiffon Cake

• 5 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup ground hazelnuts
• 3 tbsp flour, all-purpose
• 1/4 tsp almond flavoring

Pastry Cream

• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks 
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 cups heavy cream

• strawberry filling or jam

For the cake: Preheat oven to 375° F.   Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans (or use my slick grease recipe!).  Beat egg yolks and sugar in large mixer bowl until pale and creamy.  Fold in hazelnuts, flour, and almond flavoring.  Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into egg yolk mixture.  Spread batter gently in prepared pans.  Bake about 30 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool thoroughly, even overnight, on a wire rack.

For the pastry cream: In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs.  Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.  When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in.  Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface. Refrigerate until chilled before using.

For the frosting: Place the cleaned bowl of the stand mixer and the whip attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes. Combine vanilla extract, sugar, and heavy cream in the chilled bowl and whip at medium speed until medium peaks form, about 2 minutes.  Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least one hour.

To put it all together: Cut each cake in half into two layers. Place the top of one of the cakes upside down on your platter.  Spread with pastry cream filling. Top with second layer (bottom of of the cake you used).  Spread with strawberry filling.  Top with top of next cake, and spread with pastry cream.  Finally, top with bottom of last cake (you want to end with the bottom of a cake - this will give you nice, crisp edges).  Frost with whipped cream frosting.  I patted finely chopped hazelnuts around the edges of the cake for a little decorative touch - you can do this if you wish.  Decorate as desired - I put some whipped cream frosting into a piping bag with a star tip and did little bloops around the edge of the cake, then placed a piece hazelnut on each bloop.

Note: In case you were wondering, "bloop" isn't the technical term - I just wasn't sure of the correct technical term.