This Chocolate Hazelnut Cake is rich, moist, and has a fantastic crumb, especially considering that it is grain-free.
Do you ever just bake yourself a cake? To be honest, that’s something I usually just sweet-talk my husband into a couple times a year. But on a rainy afternoon this week, I had some extra time and some hazelnut flour, and took matters into my own hands.

This cake turned out so good that I knew I had to share it with you. When it comes to desserts, I don’t mess around. We bake everything gluten-free, and when something wouldn’t be up to standard for people without any restrictions then it’s not good enough to share!
I think this would be the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving. It feels very autumnal.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (Grain-Free)
This Chocolate Hazelnut Cake is rich, moist, and has a fantastic crumb, especially considering that it is grain-free.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 50
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Holiday
Ingredients
- a round 9″ springform pan
- parchment paper
- an electric mixer (or a whisk operated by a sturdy arm)
- 200 g (7 oz) good quality dark chocolate
- 1 T brandy, cointreau, or bourbon (optional)
- 200 g (or 1 cup) good butter, cut into pieces
- 6 eggs, separated
- 200g sugar (1 scant cup)– can be regular, coconut sugar, or xylitol
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 T good quality cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
- 200g or 1 and 3/4 cups Hazelnut Flour
- 1/4 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts for garnish
Instructions
What to Do
- Preheat your oven to 350 F, or 180 C, and line your pan with buttered parchment paper.
- In a double-boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt your chocolate. As it begins to soften, add the (optional) liquor, stirring gently until completely melted. Add the butter, and stir until everything is evenly melted.
- Combine the dry ingredients. I like to use a whisk to mix in all together and break down any clumps.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff.
- Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat, and stir in the egg yolks. Fold the chocolate into the egg whites, gently.
- Add the dry ingredients into the batter, about a third at a time, and then stir very gently to combine– do not over-mix.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 50 minutes, until the middle is semi-firm and an inserted knife blade comes out cleanly.
- Allow to cool, then dust with cocoa powder and serve.
Keywords: Chocolate, hazelnut, grainfree, glutenfree, dark chocolate, flourless, cake

This Hazelnut Chocolate Cake also works very well in a bundt pan. When I was first whipping it up, I made half a batch and poured it into a little bundt pan. That was really lovely, and I shared it on Instagram!
If you’ve been with me for a while, you likely know I’m a big fan of a nourishing slice of cake or pumpkin pie for breakfast now and then. This one is just perfect for that, absolutely wonderful with a cup of coffee. It’s rich, but not too sweet, and will quell even the fiercest of chocolate cravings.
Enjoy!
Looking for some more wonderful cake recipes? Here are a couple more to try:
Wow, It seems amazingly tasty recipe of chocolate cake. It looks very yummy and I’ll sure try this recipe and chocolate flavor is one of my favorite too. Thank you for this blog post
I’m a huge chocolate lover and made this cake. It came out perfectly! Moist and not over sweet. Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
★★★★★