Hazelnuts grown in the Nebrodi mountain range of Sicily are beautifully showcased in this simple cake. Light, airy and not overly sweet, this hazelnut cake is a quick and easy last minute dessert idea.
The region of Piemonte, in northern Italy, is famously known for it's hazelnuts and an Italian hazelnut cake recipe, or torta di nocciole, which is usally flourless.
However, the Nebrodi mountains located in the north east corner of Sicily are a major producer of hazelnuts as well.
This is the part of Sicily that my parents are from and I had the good fortune to sample these freshly harvested hazelnuts firsthand last September.
Here's why you'll love this hazelnut cake!
- Made with few ingredients, this cake is easy to put prepare. In fact the longest part is separating and beating the egg whites before folding them into the batter. But it's all worthwhile because the result is a cake with a light and airy textutre.
- The hazelnuts are not overly processed into a fine powder. I coarsely grind them in my food processor and they add extra texture and bite to the cake.
- Not overly sweet, this cake is all about the flavor and texture of the hazelnuts.
List of ingredients
- Roasted hazelnuts
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Powdered sugar (optional): for serving
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
- Roast the hazelnuts: placed shelled hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast in a 350 degrees F preheated for 15 minutes. Remove the skins and set aside to cool.
- Transfer the cooled hazelnuts to the bowl of your food processor. Process until coarsely ground.
- Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the bottom and sides with butter.
- Whisk together egg yolks; sugar and oil in a large bowl. Stir in the milk and vanilla extract.
- Use a rubber spatula to stir in the flour and baking powder. Next, stir in all but 2 tbsps. of the ground hazelnuts.
- Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until the whites form stiff peaks.
- Gently fold half the egg whites into the batter with the rubber spatula. Stir in the remaining whites until no traces of egg white are visible.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Evenly sprinkle the reserved hazelnuts over the top.
- Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. The top of the cake may crack slightly, that is ok.
- Let sit for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.
- Cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar (optional) and serving.
Recipe Notes
-The milk may be replaced with non-dairy options such as almond, soy or coconut milk.
-Do not substitute purchased hazelnut flour. Coarsely grind shelled, roasted hazelnuts for the best texture.
Keep well wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freeze the cake, well wrapped, for up to one month. Defrost at room temperature and dust with powdered sugar, if desired, before serving.
Did you try out this recipe?
Please let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!
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More Italian cake recipes for you to check out!
- Nonna's Sponge Cake
- Italian Marble Bundt Cake
- Italian Amaretti Cake
- Pistachio Orange Polenta Cake
- Italian Apple Yogurt Cake
- Sicilian Pistachio and Nutella Cake
- Blueberry Olive Oil Cake
- Plum Almond Cake
- Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake Roll
Sicilian Hazelnut Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 9-inch springform pan
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups shelled hazelnuts
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- powdered sugar for dusting optional
Instructions
- Roast the hazelnuts: placed shelled hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast in a 350 degrees F preheated for 15 minutes. Remove the skins and set aside to cool.
- Transfer the cooled hazelnuts to the bowl of your food processor. Process until coarsely ground.
- Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the bottom and sides with butter.
- Whisk together egg yolks; sugar and oil in a large bowl. Stir in the milk and vanilla extract.
- Use a rubber spatula to stir in the flour and baking powder. Stir in all but 2 tbsps. of the chopped hazelnuts.
- Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until the whites form stiff peaks. Gently fold half the egg whites into the batter with the rubber spatula. Stir in the remaining whites until no traces of egg white are visible.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Evenly sprinkle the reserved ground hazelnuts over the top.
- Bake at 350 degrees F until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. The top of the cake may crack slightly, that is fine.
- Let sit for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.
- Cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar (optional) and serving.
Notes
-Do not substitute purchased hazelnut flour. Coarsely grind shelled, roasted hazelnuts for the best texture. Storage -Store, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 3 day.s Can this cake be frozen? -Freeze, tightly wrapped, for up to one month. Defrost at room temperature and dust with powdered sugar, if desired, before serving.
Lidio Rainaldi
Hello, this didn't turn out like I wanted. First i'm older, and male, and dont have good luck baking, still working and caregiver for my Abruzzese parents, so the quality of an ideal baking scene. keeps diminishing. A friend brought me a bag of hazlenuts and I needed to bring a dessert to a party and I saw your cake recipe. I roasted the hazlenuts for 12 minutes at 325 and they burnt, then had a hard time shelling, as they shells weren't just dropping off. I looked up a video on this. The Martha Stewart video stated to roast until lightly browned an aromatic. The hazlenuts on this video were a good inch in diameter. The hazlenuts I had were the size of garbanzo beans. So, clearly, a small hazelnut would burn quicker. I rescued what I could, then roasted almonds on the stove, lightly, to make up 1 3/4 cup of nuts. Then ground the nuts. Not reading the recipe correctly, I didn't separate the eggs . . . so didn't beat the egg whites. I didn't have time to start over, so proceeded onward. When I folded in the nuts, I saw this was a lot of nuts. The batter was very nutty. I added an additional egg and some almond milk to thin the batter. I should've added 1/2 of the nuts, slowly, until the batter was the right consistency. It rose, but not like other cakes i've made, and it was a bit dry. I cut thin slices and served it with a strawberry and blueberry sugary mix, and ice creme. One friend said it was halfway to being a biscotti! The errors I made are for others to learn. Keep in mind us old bakers need all the help we can get. Perhaps say 3 eggs, separated. Next time I'll do better at recipe making, and wait for parent nap time to do any baking. On another note, your Italian Breakfast cookies are exactly what my grandmother made, using anise instead of vanilla, but the recipes are very close. It was a pleasant surprise to see this, and I passed it to all my family. Thank you again, and I've learned a lot from this.
Nadia
Hello Lidio, your review made me chuckle and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! You are correct, we learn from our errors. And I'll take note to specify eggs, separated. That's a good point! Although, it doesn't sound like it turned out too bad if your friend thought it was almost like biscotti! Hope you try out the breakfast cookies next time, and if I can offer a tip, please read the entire recipe before you begin! Grazie mille and all the best to you!
Halle
I made this gluten free using Bob's Redmill 1-1 flour, it worked beautifully and was a lovely texture with a strong hazelnut flavor.
Nadia
Thank you for sharing Halle, this is wonderful and I hope my other GF readers take note that it works well. All the best!
Noemí
Hello Nadia, I'm looking forward to making the hazelnut sponge cake but I want to know, will I be able to make smaller biscuits with this same recipe?
Nadia
Hi Noemi, I'll be honest with you I couldn't say since I've never tried that. If you're looking for a cookie recipe, I do have one on my blog for 3 ingredient Hazelnut Cookies. Perhaps you might consider that recipe instead!
Noemi Colón
Thanks Nadia. I'm going to try this recipe. I'm eager to make this recipe.
Nadia
Hope you enjoy it Noemi!
josie fanone
Perfect coffee cake. Just like moms recipe! Love everything you do! Thanks:)
Nadia
So glad you enjoyed it Josie and thank you for the kind words. Very much appreciated!