Chocolate Hazelnut Orange Cake For Progressive Eats

By: The Food Hunter

It's citrus season in Arizona which means an abundance of oranges, grapefruits and lemons are available everywhere you look. If you happen to be one of the few people in the area without a citrus tree growing nearby no need to worry since people graciously share their harvest with friends, family and co-workers. You will often times find bags of produce at community events available for the taking.

With this in mind I am joining this month's Progressive Eats dinner, a virtual version of a progressive dinner where people travel from house to house to share in different courses of a meal. This month we are featuring citrus in all of our recipes.

My contribution to the meal is this decadent chocolate hazelnut orange cake. This cake can be made in a 9x9 square baking pan (like I did) or if you'd prefer a round cake you can use an 8x2 round pan. It's really up to you, but I prefer the square for aesthetic reasons.

Chocolate Hazelnut Orange Cake

1 orange

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup hazelnut flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 square pan with parchment paper so that it overhangs on all sides (this will make it easy to remove).

Place the entire orange in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring the pot to a boil then cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until orange is soft, about 2 hours depending on the size. Once the orange has cooled slice it in half and remove any large seeds.

Place the orange in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add all the remaining ingredients to the processors, except for the powdered sugar. Pulse a few times, until the mixture is well combined.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan on a cooling rack. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Progressive Eats Citrus Menu

Drinks

• Bubbly Blood Orange Campari Cocktail from Mother Would Know

Appetizers

• Muhammara with Blood Orange from Pastry Chef Online

Bread

• Orange and Anise Scented Challah from OMG! Yummy

Main Course

• Chicken Milanese with Citrus Salsa from Healthy Delicious

Veggies/Side Dishes

• Citrus Salad with Honey-Tarragon Vinaigrette from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
• Lemon Rice - South Indian Rice With Lemon from SpiceRoots

Desserts

• Blood Orange Upside Down Cake from Creative Culinary
• Chocolate Hazelnut Orange Cake from Food Hunters Guide
• Meyer Lemon Mousse from The Redhead Baker
• Raspberry Topped Lemon Souffles from That Skinny Chick Can Bake

We have a core group of 12 bloggers, but we will always need substitutes and if there is enough interest would consider additional groups. To see our upcoming themes and how you can participate, please check out the schedule at Creative Culinary or contact Barb for more information.