Hazelnut Cake Recipe with Hazelnut Buttercream

This hazelnut cake is three 8 inch layers of tender butter cake made with 1 cup (140 g) of toasted, finely ground hazelnuts, a little sour cream, and whole milk, stacked with a hazelnut spread buttercream. The layers bake for 25 to 28 minutes at 350°F, the whole cake takes about 1 hour 18 minutes, and it cuts into 12 to 14 slices.

The trick is in the nuts. Toast them, rub off the skins, and grind them only until they look like coarse sand. Get that right and the crumb tastes deeply of hazelnut while still holding up under two layers of frosting.

The Numbers for Three 8 Inch Hazelnut Layers

• Pans: three 8 inch round pans, greased and lined with parchment
• Oven: 350°F (175°C), 25 to 28 minutes
• Time: 30 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooling, about 1 hour 18 minutes in total
• Yield: 12 to 14 slices
• Nuts: 140 g toasted hazelnuts in the batter, about ½ cup chopped on top
• Frosting: butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream and ⅓ cup (80 g) hazelnut spread

---

Toasting and Grinding Hazelnuts Without Making Paste

Raw hazelnuts taste flat and a little green in a cake. Spread them on a sheet pan and toast at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan halfway. They are ready when the skins crack and darken, the kitchen smells toasty, and the nut under the skin is pale gold rather than white.

Let them cool until you can handle them, then rub them in a clean kitchen towel. The skins taste bitter, but a few brown flecks left behind are fine.

Weigh the nuts before you grind them: 140 g of whole toasted hazelnuts. A cup of nuts that are already ground weighs much less, and the cake comes out paler and drier. Once the nuts are completely cool, pulse them with 2 tablespoons of the flour from the recipe in 1 second bursts. Stop when the texture is dry and sandy, like a coarse flour. Warm nuts or long pulses release oil, and oily nuts make a heavy, greasy layer.

Out of hazelnuts? Toasted almonds work at the same weight, though the flavor turns milder. Leftover toasted nuts are also good in chocolate hazelnut crunch cookies.

---

Why This Crumb Is Soft but Sturdy Enough to Stack

The ground nuts replace part of the flour, so the cake is moist and nutty without turning dense. All-purpose flour gives enough structure for three layers; cake flour makes them too fragile to stack. Sour cream keeps the crumb soft for days, and full fat Greek yogurt works in a pinch with a slightly sharper taste.

Use unsalted butter at room temperature for both the cake and the frosting. It should dent easily under a finger but not look shiny or greasy. If you only have salted butter, leave out the pinch of salt in the buttercream.

---

Mixing the Batter: What Each Stage Should Look Like

Beat the butter and sugar on medium high for 3 to 5 minutes. It should look much paler and fluffier, like the bowl in the photo. A paddle attachment works best here.

Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. The batter may look curdled at this point. That usually means the eggs were cold, and it smooths out once the flour goes in, so keep going rather than adding extra flour.

Add the hazelnut and flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and sour cream in two, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on low only until you no longer see dry streaks. Then get the batter into the pans without a long pause, since the baking powder starts working as soon as it is wet.

---

Baking and Cooling the Three Layers

Divide the batter evenly. Weighing the pans gives three even layers, but eyeballing works if you smooth the tops. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes. The tops should spring back when pressed lightly, and a toothpick in the center should come out clean or with a few dry crumbs.

Cool the layers in their pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack and let them cool completely. Even a slightly warm layer will melt the buttercream and slide.

---

Nutella vs Natural Hazelnut Butter in the Buttercream

The frosting beats 1 cup of butter with 3 cups of powdered sugar, then adds heavy cream, vanilla, salt, and ⅓ cup of hazelnut spread.

• Nutella or another chocolate hazelnut spread: sweeter, with a light cocoa note and a firm, pipeable texture.
• Natural hazelnut butter: unsweetened, so the nut flavor leads, but the frosting is softer. Chill it for 10 to 15 minutes before you stack the layers.

If the frosting is too stiff, add a splash more cream. If it is too soft, chill it for 10 minutes and beat again. For a chocolate version of this cake, see my chocolate hazelnut cake, or spread a thin layer of Nutella cake filling between the layers here.

---

Frosting and Stacking the Hazelnut Layer Cake

Set the first layer on a plate or cake stand and spread a thick layer of buttercream over it. Add the second layer, repeat, then top with the third and frost the top and sides. One batch covers the cake with a generous filling and a rustic coat outside. For a thick, smooth finish all over, make half a batch more.

For clean swirls, dip your offset spatula in warm water and wipe it dry before each pass. Finish with about ½ cup of chopped toasted hazelnuts on top or pressed around the bottom edge.

---

When the Layers Sink or Turn Dense

• Sunken centers: the batter was overmixed, the oven was not fully preheated, or the door was opened early. Mix only until combined and wait until at least 20 minutes before checking.
• Heavy, greasy crumb: the nuts were ground warm or too long. Grind them cool and stop at the sandy stage.
• Dense layers: the butter was too cold to cream properly. Give it time on the counter first.
• Gritty frosting: the powdered sugar was not sifted or not beaten long enough. Beat 2 to 3 more minutes and scrape the bowl.
• Layers stick: grease both the pan and the parchment, and let them rest the full 10 minutes before turning out.

---

Flavor Swaps for the Cake and Buttercream

Swap half the granulated sugar for brown sugar for a softer crumb with a hint of molasses. One teaspoon of espresso powder in the dry ingredients gives a gentle bitter edge that suits hazelnut.

For a different finish, frost the layers with chocolate ganache frosting, a tangy maple cream cheese frosting, or a plain American buttercream with crushed praline crunch pressed into the sides. The same base also takes a maple glaze, as on my maple brown butter layer cake.

---

Making the Hazelnut Cake Ahead and Storing It

The unfrosted layers keep for 1 day at room temperature or 1 month in the freezer, wrapped in plastic and then foil. Frozen layers are easiest to frost while still slightly chilled: unwrap them, let them sit on the counter for about an hour, and stack them while they are firm. They shed fewer crumbs that way.

A frosted cake keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days. Take it out 30 minutes before slicing so the buttercream softens and the crumb tastes moist again. A frosted cake also freezes, wrapped twice and thawed overnight in the fridge.

---

Short Answers on Hazelnut Cake

Can I bake this hazelnut cake in two 9 inch pans?

Yes. The layers will be thicker, so start checking at 25 minutes and expect a few minutes longer, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Can I use store-bought hazelnut flour?

Yes, use 140 g. Most hazelnut flour is not toasted, so spread it on a sheet pan and toast it for a few minutes at 350°F, stirring, until it smells nutty.

Do I have to remove the hazelnut skins?

Remove most of them. The skins taste bitter, but a few flecks left after rubbing in a towel are fine.