White Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake

You can make the buttercream up to a day ahead, cover and chill in the fridge. Bring up to room temperature and beat well before decorating.

Hands-on time 1hr, plus cooling and chilling. Cooking time about 1¼hr.

Serves 20

FOR THE CAKE

500g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease

150g chopped roasted hazelnuts 550g caster sugar

1tsp vanilla bean paste 10 medium eggs

525g plain flour

2½tsp baking powder 100ml milk

FOR THE CARAMELISED NUTS, OPTIONAL

8 blanched hazelnuts

50g caster sugar

¾tbsp golden syrup

8 wooden skewers/cocktail sticks 1 large orange

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

100g white chocolate, roughly chopped 6 medium egg whites 250g caster sugar 300g unsalted butter, chopped and softened

FOR THE DRIP

100ml double cream

125g white chocolate, roughly chopped

1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. For the cake, grease and line

2 x 20.5cm round, deep cake tins with baking parchment. Whizz hazelnuts and 25g of the sugar in a food processor until fairly fine; set aside. Beat butter and remaining 525g sugar in a freestanding mixer (or in a large bowl with a handheld electric whisk) until pale and fluffy.

2 Beat in vanilla, followed by eggs,

1 at a time, adding a little of the flour if the mixture looks like it’s starting to curdle. Fold through ground hazelnuts, (remaining) flour and baking powder, followed by the milk. Divide between lined tins, smooth to level and bake for 50-55min, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in tins.

3 If making the caramelised nuts, toast them in a dry, small pan over low-medium heat until lightly golden. Empty on to a board to cool. In the pan, mix the sugar, syrup and 2tbsp water. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Turn up heat to medium-high and bubble for 5min, swirling the pan occasionally rather than stirring, or until a deep caramel colour. Remove from heat.

4 Place the orange on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Stick a hazelnut on top of each skewer/cocktail stick. Working one at a time, dip the nut into the caramel to coat (tilting the pan if needed), then poke the other end of the skewer/stick into the side of the orange (so any excess caramel drips on to the parchment). Repeat with remaining nuts; leave to cool completely.

5 For the buttercream, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Set aside to cool. In a separate large heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, use a handheld electric whisk to beat egg whites and sugar until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved, about 5min. Scrape into the bowl of a freestanding mixer, or continue with the bowl off the heat and the handheld electric whisk. Beat on high for 10min, or until meringue is thick and outside of bowl is completely cool. Gradually add butter, one piece at a time, beating well after each addition (it might look curdled, but keep beating and it will come together). Once all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high for 4min. Add cooled white chocolate and beat again until smooth.

6 To assemble, slice cooled cakes in half horizontally. Sandwich the layers back together with generous layers of buttercream. Scantly cover the top and sides of the cake with some of the remaining buttercream, smoothing with a palette knife to finish. Chill for 30min to firm up. Once firm, use most of the remaining buttercream to ice the top and sides of the cake as smoothly as possible. Chill for 30min.

7 If you like, drag a palette knife in horizontal rings around the sides to make stripes, removing a little icing. Transfer remaining buttercream to a piping bag, fitted with your nozzle of choice. Chill cake while you make the drip.

8 For the drip, heat cream and white chocolate in a small pan over low heat until chocolate melts. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally, for 30min. Pour cooled drip over top of chilled cake, smoothing with a palette knife and encouraging drips to fall over the sides. Pipe buttercream rosettes around top of the cake; top each one with a caramelised hazelnut, if made. Serve in slices. PER SERVING 551cals, 9g protein, 27g fat (13g saturates), 68g carbs (48g total sugars), 2g fibre TO STORE Remove caramelised hazelnuts and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Keep iced cake loosely covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Allow to come up to room temperature before serving.