Hazelnut & Chocolate Mini Wedding Cakes

Before starting this Hazelnut and Chocolate Mini Wedding Cake recipe, make sure you have organised all the necessary ingredients.

Using a knife, chop the whole hazelnuts...

... and roast in a hot oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Place the butter and icing sugar in the stand mixer recipient.

Place the bowl in the stand mixer and fit it with the flat beater. Combine the two ingredients, making sure not to over-knead the preparation. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder together.

Add the egg yolks to the butter and icing sugar mix...

... add the flour and baking powder...

... and the roasted hazelnuts.

Combine...

... making sure you do not knead the batter excessively.

Clean the stand mixer recipient and pour the egg whites...

... and beat until firm.

Add the beaten egg whites to the batter.

Using a rubber spatula, gently incorporate the egg whites to the batter.

You will need two wonder cake silicone moulds for this recipe. The cavities don't need to be greased.

Transfer the batter into a piping bag. Fill the cavities up to 0.5cm from the top.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (gas 6) between 15 and 20 minutes.
Insert the blade of a knife to check whether the cakes are cooked. The blade should be dry when you take it out.

When cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool.

If the cakes have risen a lot during baking, slice the top part with a serrated knife to get a flat surface...

... as shown in the photo.

Release the cakes from the mould while they are still warm.

Refrigerate.

For the chocolate mirror icing: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

In a saucepan, heat the water and sugar to make a syrup.

When the sugar is melted and the preparation first comes to a boil, pour it over the cocoa powder.

Combine well with a whisk.

FSoak the gelatine sheets in a bowl filled with cold water for a few minutes.

Bring the cream to a boil, then add the strained gelatine.

Combine well with a whisk until completely dissolved.

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate preparation...

... and combine with a whisk...

... until the icing has a homogeneous consistency.

Stir the icing regularly so it cools down faster.

To speed up the cooling process, you can place the bowl in a bigger recipient filled with cold water.

Ideally, the icing should get down to a temperature of 20-25°C. The use of a laser thermometer is recommended for this operation.

Icing the cakes: Using a ladle...

... pour the chocolate icing over the cold mini tiered cakes (straight out of the fridge).

Let the icing slowly drip off...

... until the whole surface of the cake is coated with chocolate. Let set in the fridge.

For the royal icing: Organise the necessary ingredients.

Pour the icing sugar in a recipient.

Add a small amount of egg white.

Combine vigorously until homogeneous.

For the finish: Using a decorating bag, pipe the royal icing on the surface of the cake and create the pattern of your choice. Finish the decoration with a few sugar pearls and sugar flowers.