How I love a country getaway! When an escape to the country is also a girl’s weekend away it is close to perfection.
I was recently invited on a weekend away by one of the mums, Amanda, from school and her friends to a charming country NSW town called Crookwell.
I’d not been there before but it was lovely – scenic with friendly locals and a few gorgeous shops for us to potter around in. It was cold, and I’m a winter gal, so I was thrilled to be able to rug up and pop on a beanie and scarf.
Without kids or husbands we were free to do whatever we liked, which included sleeping in, eating plenty of cheese, drinking lots of wine, napping, and be able to finish a sentence without 10,000 interruptions from little people.
The weekend coincide with Amanda’s birthday so I made at home, then hid in the car so she wouldn’t notice, a flourless chocolate hazelnut cake. After dinner on Saturday night we all sang ‘happy birthday’ and toasted to our lovely friend.
The recipe is from AWW Bake and it is a rich, delicate, decorated-free free cake. Serve with a dusting of icing sugar and a dollop of double cream on the side.
It was a gorgeous, relaxing, funny weekend and I hope to do it again, with the same gang, soon!
GATHER:
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup water
150g dark chocolate, melted
150g butter, melted
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 cup hazelnut meal
4 eggs, separated
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180C and grease a deep 20cm round cake pan and line bas and sides with baking paper.
Whisk cocoa with water in large bowl until smooth, then stir in melted chocolate, butter, sugar, meal and egg yolks.
Beat egg whites in bowl of electric mixer until soft peaks form, then gently fold into chocolate mixture in two batches. Pour into pan.
Bake an hour-ish, stand in pan 15 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool.
the hungry mum 
I never realised how easy flour less cakes were. Love the sparkler on top! 🙂
Oh yes – easy is my mantra when it comes to baking! And I do love me a sparkler 🙂
Your blog is so great 🙂 love reading!!
Awwww, thanks! You’re very sweet x
Chocolate and hazelnut is always such a wonderful combination – I’ll be excited to give this recipe a go! Sounds like a fabulous little town to visit too!
Choc & anything nut is a winner in my books! Crookwell was just lovely – so relaxing and pretty.
I love fuss-free cakes like this one. all the satisfaction without any primming-and-propping!
Isn’t it great not to have faff around with icing and decorations? 🙂
Wow – yum! and did you see the wind farm too?
Can you believe the wind farm wasn’t working?! Was a really still day when we drove home. They looked amazing, though.
Sounds like a wonderful weekend. Moms are always busy accommodating their family and it is so important to have a break. A break in a lovely place with lovely friends is even better! How kind of you to bring a birthday cake! And you found a delicious cake that travels well (not easy to do)!
I agree – escaping without families is so important every now & then. And even though this cake is fragile it managed to survive the journey intact 🙂
Sounds like the perfect weekend away:) Hazelnut and chocolate are the perfect combination in a cake!
fun images 🙂 especially love the red and white candy shelves
thanks – some v cute shops in Crookwell 🙂
Sounds like you had a fabulous time. I will definitely try this gorgeous-looking cake!
Sure did – was very relaxing 🙂 Hope you try the cake, it is lush x
Will try with almond flour and hope it works. We do not get hazelnut flour around here.
I imagine it would work with almond flour – good luck x
I love flourless cakes! This one looks incredible – so rich and dense!
Me too – there’s a richness to them that can’t be beaten 🙂 Thanks for popping by x
It sounds like a great weekend and I love those sheep in socks! This cake look gorgeous too – perfect warm on a winter night I think 🙂
What a lovely surprise for your friend. This cake looks so chocolatey and decadent!
Thanks! It is *very* rich – a teeny tiny sliver is all you need 🙂
This looks sublime! Exactly the type of simple, rich cake I enjoy. I love your sparkler decorations!
Thanks 🙂 Sparklers are so fun! Much more dramatic than a candle x
Spectacular in every way!
Oooh, ta!
Omg, I’m totally into gluten free at the moment cause people are always asking for it at work. New recipes are always welcome. Liked this post a lot 🙂
Just wait til you try it – oh.my.gawd… pretty fab.
Always looking for recipes of delciousnesses I can eat…this one looks so simple but so good!
Simple is my baking motto 🙂 Jope you get a chance to try this out – let me know what you think.