Torta Savoia - Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake - Recipe by Victoria Granof
Ingredients
Sponge cake recipe (page 133)
100 g sugar
120 mL brewed espresso
Buttercream:
180 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
115 g milk chocolate, chopped
135 g Nutella
1/2 recipe crema pasticcera (page 165), chilled
Glaze:
330 g dark chocolate, chopped
60 mL canola oil
Method
Dissolve the sugar in the espresso to make a syrup and set aside until you’re ready to assemble the cake.
To make the buttercream, place half of the butter and all of the milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl set on top of a saucepan of simmering water; stir as the chocolate melts. As soon as it does, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in first the Nutella and then the rest of the butter.
Transfer it to a larger bowl and set aside to cool completely. When cool, whip the chocolate mixture with an electric mixer until it’s light and fluffy. Gradually add the crema pasticcera, whipping all the while. Continue to whip, scraping the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed, until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Set this aside.
To make the glaze, melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set on top of a saucepan of simmering water, stirring as it melts. As soon as it does, whisk in the oil until the mixture is smooth and glossy. This will become firm as it cools; if necessary, just reheat it gently over simmering water until it liquefies.
To assemble the torta, slice both pan di Spagna cakes in half crosswise so you have four very thin layers. Place the first layer on the plate you intend it to stay on. Brush the top with some of the espresso syrup. Spread one-fourth of the buttercream evenly on the top of the first layer.
Continue this operation until all the cake layers are used. Spread the last of the buttercream on the top and the sides of the cake in a thin layer. It won’t entirely cover the cake; it’s what’s called a crumb coat and it will prevent any stray crumbs from escaping into the glaze. Chill the cake, loosely covered, until the crumb coat is hardened, at least 30 minutes or up to a day.
To finish assembling the cake, have a long offset spatula ready. Put about 60 mL of the glaze in a pastry bag with a small round tip for writing, or in a zipper storage bag with a tiny bit of the corner snipped off, or, if you happen to have a small plastic squeeze bottle, that’s the easiest. Just pour the glaze in and snip off the very top.
Pour the remaining glaze onto the top of the cake and, with the spatula, coax it over the edges. Spread and smooth it onto the sides of the cake to completely cover the crumb coat. With the reserved glaze, write the word Savoia across the top and, if you like, add some fanciful squiggles, like Sicilian pastry cooks do.
