This is a finicky little cake but very good if you can pull it off. It takes time to fold the ingredients together. Do not open the oven during cooking or it will fall. Weigh the ingredients carefully.
Ingredients
4 Egg Whites
250 grams fine Sugar
1 Vanilla Bean, scraped (use only the scraped insides)
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Distilled Malt Vinegar
150 grams Skinned Hazelnuts, ground to flour
Assembly and Decoration
225 grams Blackcurrants, Huckleberries or Raspberries
75 grams Sugar
1 cup Whipping Cream
Powdered Sugar
Whole Hazelnuts
Instructions
Heat oven to 355f or 180c. Line sides and base of 2 springform or 7inch round pans with parchment
Whisk the egg whites until stiff, gradually whisk in sugar a bit at a time until stiff peaks form
Add the Vanilla Bean Scrapings to 1 teaspoon Sugar and mix well, then gently fold this and the Malt Vinegar into the Egg white mixture
Gently fold in the Ground Hazelnuts using a flat flexible spatula. Be patient and fold very gently until combined keeping lots of air and loft to it
Pour the mixture into prepared pans, distributing evenly, gently level them off
Bake 30-40 minutes
Cool completely on wire racks and remove from pans
Decorating
Place the Berries in a saucepan with sugar and a bit of water. Simmer about 10 minutes until they are soft
Process them through a fine mesh sieve
Whisk Whipping Cream until it holds peaks
Sandwich the cakes together using the Whipped Cream
Dust with Powdered Sugar
Pipe with additional Cream and top with Berries and/or whole Hazelnuts
Serve with Berry Sauce underneath the cake, on the side or a drizzle over each slice
Notes
You can make this Dairy free by using Cashew Cream instead of the Whipped Cream. Simply soak 1 cup of raw Cashews for 4 hours. Drain and process in a high speed blender adding 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup and 1/4-1/2 cup cold water. Process until it is the consistency of whipped cream. You can also use a Berry Compote or Jam to sandwich the layers.
Recipe by Healthy Mama Cooks at http://www.healthymamacooks.com/hazelnut-gateau/