Chocolate, Hazelnut & Coffee Crunch Cake with Mascarpone Cheese Icing

{This cake tied for 2nd place, bringing $100 in the United Way Cakes for Cowboys fundraiser at OSU}

You will need a box of chocolate cake mix, I used the moist kind, no one likes dry cake. Mix the cake batter up as the box says. The box I used called for quite a bit of water, you can split the water with half parts prepared coffee which gives the chocolate an extra rich flavor. Or, whole parts prepared coffee. Grease the cake pans with butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cook the cake in two 8 inch cake pans. Keep an eye on it, I always cook it at the minimum time and check it with a toothpick to ensure it is extra moist.

Meanwhile, chop up about half a cup of chocolate covered coffee beans, making sure to chop the actual beans up very small. Set aside.

Also chop about half a cup of hazelnuts, more or less depending on how much crunch you desire. I couldn't find plain hazelnuts so I used specialty chocolates with whole hazelnuts. Set aside.

Bring to a boil 1/3 cup water and 2/3 cup sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved, making a simple syrup.

Once the sugar is dissolved let cook at a boil for about 6-8 minutes until it just starts to turn golden. Remove from heat for a few seconds and pour over the mixture of hazelnuts and chocolate covered coffee beans on parchment paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then pound until the crunch is in small pieces.

When you pull the cake out of the oven, place the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes to slow down the cooking process. Then dump the cake on parchment paper to completely cool. If your cake rises a lot in the center just take a bread knife, place your hand firmly on the top of the cake and slice a layer out of the top to make the cake even for stacking.

In a large mixing bowl beat 16 oz. of room temperature mascarpone cheese, 1 cup of cream, 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until the icing forms stiff peaks.

Fold the crunch mixture into the mascarpone cheese icing.

Place one flat piece of cake on cake pan, ice the top generously. Add the second layer of cake and carefully ice the top and sides of the cake.

Mix 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of orange zest (do not substitute anything for the zest). Pulse in a food processor until fully mixed and the chips are in smaller pieces. Sprinkle topping on the top and sides of cake.

Voila! There you have it. Chocolate, Hazelnut, Coffee Crunch Cake with Mascarpone Cheese Icing.

Ingredients:

1 box moist chocolate cake mix

Crunch:

1/2 cup hazelnuts, more or less depending on how crunchy you like things

1/2 cup chocolate covered coffee beans

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

Filling:

16 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1 cup cream

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon orange zest (no substituting)