Anna's Hazelnut–Brown Butter Cake from Zoë François
This is a cake I’ve been chasing for 30 years. It’s the one my husband’s mom used to make for him when he was growing up, and the cake by which he judges all others. “This is delicious,” he often said, “but I wish you could make the hazelnut cake my mom used to bake.” Anna François, my mother-in-law, is a potter and one of the most talented people I know, but writing down recipes is not her style. She tried to talk me through how to make it, but I just wasn’t able to replicate hers, and it drove me to near madness. Since this book wouldn’t have been complete without this recipe, I persevered and finally got the enthusiastic approval of my husband. It was September when I finally nailed it, so I used fresh figs that were in season, but the cake is also brilliant served with peaches, cherries, berries, or just a simple dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
Makes one 8-inch/20-centimeter cake
Photo by Zoë François
ingredients
1¼ cups/250 grams superfine sugar, divided
½ cup/60 grams all-purpose flour
½ cup/60 grams hazelnut flour
6 tablespoons/85 grams brown butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch kosher salt
4 eggs, separated, at room temperature
½ cups Perfect Whipped Cream (recipe below)
Figs, peaches, berries, cherries, or any other fruit you desire for topping
method
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Line an 8-inch/20-centimeter cake pan with a large piece of ungreased parchment paper, so it comes all the way up the sides. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together ¼ cup/50 grams of the sugar, both flours, the brown butter, honey, vanilla, salt, and egg yolks. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy. Turn the speed to medium-low and slowly sprinkle in the remaining 1 cup/200 grams sugar to create a French meringue. Turn the speed to high and beat until medium-stiff, glossy peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes more.
- Stir about 1 cup/240 milliliters of the meringue into the egg yolk–flour mixture to lighten. Gently fold in another one-third of the meringue. Repeat with two more additions, until the yolk mixture is light and smooth with no streaks of whites left in the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a small offset spatula.
- Bake until the cake is light brown and has risen, about 20 minutes. Turn the oven temperature to 350°F/175°C and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes more. Let the cake cool completely in the pan, then turn out onto a serving plate. Remove the parchment paper.
- Serve the cake dolloped with the whipped cream and topped with fresh fruit.
- Makes 3 Cups
- 2 cups/480 milliliters heavy whipping cream
1 to 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract - In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla and beat on medium speed (you read that right) until just thick—it will start to leave marks from the whisk in the cream.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using the whisk attachment, continue whipping by hand for several seconds until the cream reaches the desired consistency; this way, you can ensure the mixer won’t take it too far. Whipped cream is best used right away
Perfect Whipped Cream
Divider
Excerpted from Zoë BakesCakes. Copyright © 2021 by Zoë François. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random HouseDon't miss our interview with Zoë
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