Hazelnut Baby Loaves

By norsegal8

These small loaf cakes develop a thin, light, sugary crust and soft, tender inner crumb due to the addition of cream to the batter. The loaves are beautifully flavored and scented with ground hazelnuts and accompanied by a grappa-mascarpone cream that you will find yourself making often.

Ingredients

• THE CREAM
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup mascarpone
• 1 teaspoon grappa
• THE CAKES
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, peeled
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup crème fraîche, homemade or store bought, or heavy cream
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• Melted butter for greasing the pans
• Sliced peaches or other fruit, for garnish

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

WHIPPED CREAM
Whip the heavy cream with the sugar until it forms soft peaks. Scrape the mascarpone into a medium bowl and stir it briefly with a rubber spatula to loosen it. Stir in the grappa, then fold into the whipped cream. Cover the cream and chill until needed. The cream can be made ahead and chilled for up to 4 hours.

THE CAKES
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush a light coating of melted butter over the insides of 8 mini loaf pans, each 4 ¼ by 2 ½ by 2-inches. Dust the inside of each pan with a little flour and tap out the excess.
Place the hazelnuts and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until the nuts are finely ground, taking care not to overdo this, or you will end up with hazelnut butter. Whisk or stir together the ground hazelnuts, flour, baking powder and salt just to combine; set aside. In a separate bowl, add the almond extract to the crème fraîche; reserve.
Put the butter and the remaining sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. The butter and sugar must be beaten until they are light, fluffy and pale, so don’t rush it – the process can take 3 to 4 minutes with a heavy-duty mixer. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Working with a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the dry ingredients and the crème fraîche alternately – 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of crème fraîche. You’ll have a thick batter.

BAKING THE CAKES
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans, filling the pans between half and two-thirds full, then give each pan a couple of raps against the countertop to settle the batter. Put the pans on a jelly-roll pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Test a couple of the cakes to be sure.) As soon as the cakes are removed from the oven, turn them out of their pans onto a rack. Invert the cakes and cool right side up.
The loaves can be served warm or at room temperature. Serve one loaf to a person, either slicing the loaves in half diagonally or cutting them into thin slices; garnish with the whipped cream and sliced fruit.

STORING
The cakes can be kept covered at room temperature for about 2 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for a month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature.