chocolate hazelnut bûche de noël

I made this dessert for my family's Christmas dinner this year and brought it to my parents's house. It's a really stunning dessert that requires no decorating skill. In fact, the hardest part about this recipe is finding the dulce de leche and not licking every single utensil clean!

The cake is simply eggs and sugar, beaten until doubled in volume, then flour and cocoa powder get folded in, followed by chopped hazelnuts. It bakes really quickly in the oven and has to be rolled up on a kitchen towel so it will keep its shape while cooling.

Once the cake is cooled, it gets brushed with some whipping cream that soaks in while the frosting gets prepared. The frosting is so good! Love the texture. Softened butter gets combined with nutella and dulce de leche. Most of that mixture gets used as filling and the rest goes on top. Chopped hazelnuts are both sprinkled over the frosting inside the roll and on top. Oh, and there's whole ferrero rochers in the very middle of the roll, plus halved ones decorating the top!

I made it on Christmas Eve and it hung out on the counter covered with plastic wrap for a good 30 hrs before we ate it. I was told the leftovers were even better on Boxing Day so the cake does keep well!

A definite keeper of a recipe!

Chocolate Hazelnut Bûche de Noël

recipe lightly adapted from: Mom's dish

5 Eggs
3/4 cups Sugar
1 cup Flour
4 tablespoons Cacao Powder
3/4 cups Crushed Toasted Hazelnuts
1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter
13 ounces Dulce De Leche
1 cup Nutella
1 cup Crushed Hazelnuts
1/2 cups Whipping Cream
16 Ferrero Rochers

Preheat over to 350F. Line a 10" x 15" jelly roll pan with parchment paper.

Whisk eggs together with sugar until it doubles in volume.

In a separate bowl, sift flour and cacao to combine them together.

By thirds, using spatula, fold flour into the egg mixture. Be careful not to over-mix the dough. Fold in 3/4 cups of crushed hazelnuts. Spread the dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven, place it on a kitchen towel. Roll up the cake making it into a long roll. Let roll cool to a room temperature.

Unroll the cake and brush the cream over the cake. Let the cream soak for a few minutes while you work on the frosting.

Combine butter, dulce de leche and nutella together and whisk until everything is well incorporated.

Spread 3/4 of the frostimg on to the inside of the roll. Place the Ferrero Rochers in a line at the edge of the long side of the cake.

Spread 3/4 of a cup of crushed hazelnuts over the frosting. Roll the cake tightly together. Spread the remaining frosting over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with remaining chopped hazelnuts and halved Ferrero Rochers.