The ingredients for the caramel will fit in a small saucepan, but make sure you use something larger—the molten sauce bubbles up quite a lot.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
Cake:
Sauce and assembly:
For cake:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8"-diameter cake pan. Line with a parchment round; butter parchment. Dust pan with flour.
Step 2
Pulse hazelnuts and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in a food processor until finely ground; set aside 2 tablespoons nut mixture. Whisk baking powder, salt, 1 cup flour, and remaining nut mixture in a medium bowl.
Step 3
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat 1/2 cup butter and remaining granulated sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions. Reduce speed to low and mix in dry ingredients. Scrape batter into prepared pan, and sprinkle with reserved nut mixture and raw sugar.
Step 4
Bake until cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center of cake comes out clean, 40–45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cake cool in pan before turning out.
Step 5
DO AHEAD:Cake can be baked 1 day ahead. Keep wrapped tightly at room temperature.
For sauce and assembly:
Step 6
Bring granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture turns a deep amber color, 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in butter and salt.Let cool slightly before serving with cake.
Step 7
DO AHEAD:Caramel sauce can be made 5 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.
How would you rate Hazelnut Butter Cake with Sea Salt Caramel?
Leave a Review
Reviews (7)
Back to TopThis is our go-to recipe for about any occasion. We add 1 tsp of Frangelico for a bit more hazelnut flavor, but prepare and bake just as listed in the recipe. This is great with Vanilla Ice Cream for desert and with coffee/tea for breakfast/snack, etc.,.
falderson
Fred PHX
1/6/2019
I was so excited for this recipe, but unfortunately it was a bust. The cake was very dry - it's the consistency of a dry coffee cake, or a dry cornbread. I admittedly had to use whole wheat pastry flour because I opened my all purpose flour and it was filled with buggies (ew!), so that may have contributed to the texture, but I see others have had the same complaint. But otherwise, I followed the recipe to a T and was disappointed in the results. No taste of hazelnut at all. The salted caramel was delicious, but that's hard to screw up. Cake will be going in the trash, caramel will be going over ice cream.
sweetpea1813
Tampa, FL
2/15/2016
I read the other reviews and wondered if the baking time had anything to do with the dryness. Stuck a toothpick in at 32 minutes and it came out clean, so I took the cake out. Not dry at all, just delicious, although i found it to be a little too salty. Perhaps will decrease the salt in the caramel next time. Everyone from the 3 year old to the 60-something birthday girl liked it. Would definitely make again.
snnamath
Los Altos, CA
1/1/2015
My 11 year old daughter made this cake for the holidays. At first I thought the cake was dry and wondered if she did something wrong, but the taste was incredible and I quickly realized it was just a dense texture, like that of cornbread, and was divine with the caramel sauce on top! The whole gathering was dying over how delicious the cake was. Now that I know about the texture, when I serve it I will probably mention it so it's not distracting. But we will be making this again!
hbursch
Minneapolis, MN
1/7/2014
I found this cake was dense and flavorful rather than dry. Of course, who wouldn't love salted caramel sauce and this is a great and simple recipe for it. I stirred vigorously when I added the cream and had no need to return it to heat - a good thing since I didn't want to overcook or burn the sauce. I plan on making it again for company. Love the fact that everything can be done ahead.
nancymert
Napa, CA
12/11/2013
I didn't make this cake yet, I was just looking at the recipe and reading the single review. I am not surprised that the cake was dry. I have found that most baking recipes from Bon Appetit are dry. I usually skip making cakes etc if the recipe comes from Bon Appetit. If you remake it, think about adding more moisture to the mix.
piedavis
Connecticut
12/7/2013
I was thrilled to find this recipe in advance of a dinner party I was hosting last night as it sounded delicious and not too rich. Unfortunately, the cake turned out very dry and I'm not sure why as I followed the (simple) directions exactly. I don't think I over cooked it as I know my oven temperature is correct and I took it out at 40 minutes. The flavor was delicious. The sea salt caramel was delicious. I will give this recipe one more chance.
elizking
Maplewood NJ
12/1/2013
