Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Moist cake with excellent chocolate flavor! and it's gluten-free! Once you've made THIS chocolate frosting, you'll use it again and again. (If you don't want the alcohol but want the flavor of Kahlua, boil Kahlua for about 30 seconds, remeasure and cool.)

• Ready In: 1 hr 40 mins
• Yields: 1 "9 inch two layer cake"

Ingredients

• Cake

• 12  ounces hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 6  egg yolks
• 6  egg whites
• 5⁄8 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 cup Kahlua
• 4  ounces  semisweet chocolate, melted

• Mocha Cream Frosting

• 2  teaspoons instant coffee or 2  teaspoons  freeze-dried coffee
• 2  teaspoons boiling water
• 2  cups  semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1  cup sweet butter, softened
• 2  eggs

Directions

1. For cake, preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
3. Grind toasted hazelnuts in food processor until very finely chopped.
4. Stir in baking powder and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until pale in color.
6. Mix in ground hazelnuts, Kahlua and melted chocolate.
7. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff.
8. Quickly fold 1/3 of the egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten the mixture.
9. Then add remaining whites and fold until no white streaks remain.
10. Pour into springform pan.
11. Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until top of cake springs back when lightly touched.
12. Cool on wire rack.
13. When cake is cool, slice horizontally into 2 layers.
14. Drizzle each cut side with 1 tbsp Kahlua.
15. To make frosting, dissolve coffee in boiling water.
16. Set aside.
17. Melt chips in microwave oven, stir until smooth.
18. Set aside.
19. In medium bowl, combine butter and eggs, beat until creamy.
20. Beat in melted chips and coffee, mixing until well blended.
21. Spread generously between layers, down the sides and on the top of the cake.