Plum Spice Hazelnut Cake with Frangelico Whipped Cream and Plum Sauce

Plum cake with warm spices and coarsely ground toasted hazelnuts decked out with a dollop of whipped cream and tart plum sauce will be a great ending to dinner and a beautiful way to begin the following morning (should you be lucky enough to have leftovers.) I toasted and skinned hazelnuts though hazelnut flour is readily available. I love the bite of a more coarse grind than a nut flour provides.

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

⅔ cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cardamom

½ tsp cloves

½ cup coarsely ground hazelnuts, toasted and skinned

3 plums, pitted and sliced

Preheat oven to 350 *. Spray oil or butter flower, heart or 9” cake pan and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Toast hazelnuts in a dry skillet for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Lay warm nuts in between paper towels and roll around to de-skin. Using a blender or food processor, grind hazelnuts coarsely. Beat butter and sugar into a stand mixing bowl and cream together. Beat in eggs. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and spices. Add to the mixer and stir until just incorporated. Using a rubber scraper, scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl and stir in the nuts. Spread neatly into the prepared cake pan. Top with the plum slices. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

Frangelico Whipped Cream:

1 cup cream

¼ cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp frangelico liqueur 

Beat in mixer the cream and brown sugar to soft peaks, add the frangelico and mix to incorporate. Serve with a slice of cake.

Plum Sauce: 

1 cup pitted, sliced plums

½ lemon, Juice and zest of 

¼ cup brown sugar

Layer in a blender and puree the mixture. Drizzle over the plated slice of cake and dollop of whipped cream.