Hazelnut Cakes

These mini cakes were made with the leftover hazelnuts from the Dandelion, Hazelnut, and Fennel Salad. These nutty, buttery little cakes are great on their own, or you can top them with berry jam -- raspberries or blueberries would both go quite well. (It's not particularly "Redwally," but I made a thin chocolate ganache by melting together a quarter cup of chocolate and a a quarter cup of milk and pouring it over the cakes. It was great.)

Hazelnut Cakes

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Yield: 8 two-inch cakes

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp chopped hazelnuts
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp milk (I used homemade hazelnut milk, but any milk should work)

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts until they become a fine meal. (Be careful not to pulse too long or the oils will release and you can end up with hazelnut butter).
   
2. Cream together the butter and brown sugar.
   
3. Add the hazelnut powder and flour to the sugar mixture and mix thoroughly. You should have a dry, crumbly dough at this point.
   
4. Add the milk, baking powder, and baking soda and mix to combine. The dough should be thick and quite sticky.
   
5. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. 
6. With wet hands, shape the dough into eight circular cakes. My circles were about 2 inches in diameter.
   
7. Preheat oven to 325F. While the oven is heating, place the baking sheet in the fridge. This will cool the cakes so they retain their shape better. 
8. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center of a cake comes out clean. (I should note that I turned off my oven after five minutes because it has an exposed coil which likes to burn things. The internal thermometer still read 325 at the ten minute mark, though.)
9. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on cooling racks. Cool about ten minutes, or until the cakes stiffen, then enjoy. These will keep in the fridge for at least a week.