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Cream Cakes, Layer Cakes

Moist Hazelnut Nougat Torte with Real Nougat Buttercream

by Lisa

Trained pastry chef

Hazelnut nougat torte with a crisp chocolate lid and chopped hazelnuts pressed around the side

4.4 (8)out of 5, 8 ratings

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Prep
20 min
Bake
15 min
Total
35 min
Makes
12 slices

For me, a really good hazelnut nougat torte means three delicate nut layers piped from a meringue batter, a buttercream made with real hazelnut nougat and a crisp chocolate lid that breaks finely when you cut into it. That's exactly what you get here, and on purpose without store-bought chocolate hazelnut spread from a jar. Sure, it's tasty, but homemade we simply do it better, and the torte tastes much nuttier and more rounded.

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My pastry chef trick for this torte: I use a French-style buttercream based on egg yolks and stir tempered hazelnut nougat into it. This makes the filling velvety and stable, and it tastes of real nougat instead of chocolate spread. Only one thing really matters: the syrup and egg yolk mixture and the butter have to be at the same temperature when they come together, otherwise your buttercream will curdle and you'll have to start over. Here is my recipe for a moist hazelnut nougat torte with homemade nougat buttercream:

Ingredients

Makes 12 slices

Cake Layers

  • 10egg whitesYes, 10!
  • 3 ⅓ cups400 gpowdered sugarVery finely ground sugar for icings and dusting. In the US use powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar); in the UK, icing sugar.
  • 1 ¼ cups150 gall-purpose flourIn German recipes this means soft wheat flour Type 405. In the US use all-purpose flour; in the UK, plain flour.
  • 2 ½ cups250 ghazelnutsground
  • 1 pinchsalt

Buttercream

  • 3egg yolks
  • 6 tbsp80 ggranulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp30 mlwater
  • 1 stick110 gunsalted buttersoftened. German butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter (European-style unsalted butter is closest); in the UK, unsalted butter.
  • 2 oz60 ghazelnut nougat (gianduja)softened. German nougat is a soft hazelnut chocolate, not the white chewy nougat known in the US and UK. In the US and UK use gianduja; for fillings, chocolate hazelnut spread works but is softer.

Decoration

  • couverture chocolatedark. Chocolate with a high cocoa butter content that melts smoothly for coating and glazing. In the US use good-quality baking chocolate bars or couverture wafers (not chocolate chips); in the UK, couverture chocolate or a good-quality cooking chocolate bar.
  • hazelnutschopped

Method

Cake Layers

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) convection (fan). Line 3 baking sheets with reusable baking mats or parchment paper.

  2. Beat the egg whites with the powdered sugar and salt until stiff.

  3. Mix the flour and hazelnuts thoroughly, sift them over the beaten egg whites, fold in and spoon the batter into a piping bag.

  4. Pipe the batter onto the mats as three cake layers and bake them in the oven right away.

  5. Pipe the remaining batter in a lattice pattern and bake it right away as well.

  6. After baking, let all the layers and the lid cool completely, then peel them off the mats and trim them a little if needed.

  7. Brush the lid with the melted chocolate.

Buttercream

  1. Beat the egg yolks vigorously for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, boil the water with the sugar to 241°F (116°C) and pour it into the egg yolks in a thin stream. Keep beating the mixture until it has cooled back down to room temperature.

  2. Beat the butter vigorously, then beat the egg yolk mixture into the butter in about three portions. Finally, stir in the hazelnut nougat.

  3. Spread a third of the buttercream on the first cake layer, smooth it out and top with the next layer. Use up the buttercream and layers, keeping back just a small amount of buttercream to frost the torte.

  4. Press the chopped hazelnuts around the side of the torte.

Questions and answers

Why don't you use store-bought chocolate hazelnut spread from a jar?
For a torte, spreads are too sweet and too fatty for me, and they quickly turn the filling mushy. With real hazelnut nougat in a homemade buttercream, the torte tastes much more rounded and nutty, and it cuts more cleanly.
Can I bake the layers in a springform pan instead of piping them?
Yes, no problem. If you don't feel confident piping, simply spread the batter into a 9-inch (24 cm) or 10-inch (26 cm) springform pan and bake three layers one after the other. The result is just as good, it only takes a little longer.
How do I keep the buttercream stable without it curdling?
The most important thing is temperature. The egg yolk and syrup mixture and the butter both need to be at room temperature when you combine them. I add the egg yolk mixture to the butter in three portions and beat briefly after each addition. If it looks grainy along the way, just keep beating and it will turn smooth again.
Which nougat works best for the filling?
I use classic hazelnut nougat from a block, which you'll find in the baking aisle. I melt it gently until it's liquid but not hot. I wouldn't use praline nougat or very soft kinds, because they make the buttercream too sweet and too sticky.
How long does the hazelnut nougat torte keep in the fridge?
Well covered, it easily keeps for three to four days in the fridge. I actually think it's almost even better on the second day, because the layers have drawn some moisture from the buttercream and everything becomes nice and moist.
Do I really have to temper the couverture, or can I use chocolate cake coating?
Chocolate cake coating works absolutely fine here (a ready-made compound chocolate coating that sets glossy without tempering; in the US, chocolate candy melts or compound coating, or chocolate melted with a little coconut oil; in the UK, chocolate cake covering, or chocolate melted with a little coconut oil). If you don't feel like dealing with a tempering machine and a thermometer, simply melt the cake coating and cover the lid with it. In looks and taste it's a perfectly fine shortcut that nobody will hold against you.