Recipe(tried): Hazelnut Pound Cake with Chocolate-Stout Sauce

Just finished dinner. lucky for me that i do not have to worry about dirty dishes... Chris has gone out to play computer network games with his childhood friends so i decided to finish up the recipe i have promised. here you go.

eggy/m'sia
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Hazelnut Pound Cake (Nusskuchen)
From Ann Willan s Cooking It Right

Toasted hazelnuts give this classic pound cake a rich flavor and crisp golden crust. For a warming winter combination, serve it with Chocolate and Stout Sauce (recipe below). In summer try it with vanilla ice cream. (**I highly recommend you try both!)

125g/ 4 oz. chopped hazelnuts
375g/ 12 oz. flour
1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
375g/ 12 oz. butter, softened (I use unsalted)
375g/ 12 oz. sugar
6 eggs
2 tbsp. instant coffee dissolved in 60 ml/ 2 fl. Oz. milk
(I tend to add 1 tsp. Kalhua.)
icing sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
one 25cm/ 10-inch tube(Bundt) cake pan (or two 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pans)
(I use a 10-inch Bundt Can Pan.)

Preheat oven to 175C/ 350F/ Gas 4. (I bake all butter cakes at 160C and it takes exactly an hour to bake this cake.)

Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the preheated oven until lightly brown, stirring once, 12 V 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then grind the nuts in a food processor or using a rotary cheese grater. Note: do NOT over work or they will be oily.
(I can be lazy at times so I use ground hazelnut to start with. Toast the nuts for about 10 minutes, shaking once or twice. Use as directed.)
Brush the cake pan generously with butter and sprinkle with flour, discarding the excess. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.

Cream the butter with an electric mixer or wooden spoon. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is lightly and fluffy, 4-5 minutes.

Beat the eggs into the butter mixture one by one, beating thoroughly between additions. If the mixture starts to separate, beat in a T. of flour. Stir in the ground hazelnuts and dissolved coffee. Finally, sifted the flour over the batter in 3 batches, folding in each batch as lightly as possible.
(After stirring the nuts in. I tend to add the flour & coffee milk alternately, just like the way Nan/SC does with her Sour Cream Pound Cake so the batter won t curdle easily.)

Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan(s) and bake in the preheated oven until done, 50-60 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to cool. Just before serving, sprinkle the cake with icing sugar, if desired. (I never use icing sugar.)

(Do not worry about the batter being too much for a Bundt Cake Tin as it never overflows. Maybe it s because I bake it at 160C for 60 minutes slow but long)

Chocolate and Stout Sauce
Make 250 ml/ 8 fl. oz.
(This sauce is also great with freshly cut fruit, esp. pear slices and orange segments.)

175g/ 6 oz. plain chocolate, chopped (Make sure you use your favorite eating chocolate!)
175 ml/ 6 fl. oz. stout or dark beer

over a low heat, melt the chocolate with the beer, stirring gently until the sauce is smooth. Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring, to the consistency wanted, 1-2 minutes.

Remove the sauce from the heat and serve hot or cold.