Nougat cake pops

Ingredients for 25 servings:

• 150 g butter, soft
• 120 g sugar
• 2 eggs, size M
• 1 pinch of salt
• 150 g flour
• 100 g hazelnuts, ground (or almonds)
• ½ pack of baking powder
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder, real
• 80 ml cream
• 200 g nougat, firm to slice
• 25 g butter, soft
• 50 g cream cheese
• 50 g powdered sugar (if needed)
• 100 g hazelnuts, chopped (or almonds)
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 250 g chocolate coating, whole milk

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 3 hours 20 minutes

with brittle

The basic cake can easily be baked a day (or longer) in advance. Or you can use up dry chocolate cake. Preheat oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat). Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix the flour, ground hazelnuts, baking powder, cocoa, and salt and gradually stir into the batter. Stir in the cream, too. Grease a loaf pan well, pour in the batter, and bake for about an hour (test with a toothpick). Let the cake cool on a wire rack. For the frosting, melt the nougat over a bain-marie and let cool slightly. Beat the cream cheese with the butter until smooth. Slowly add the nougat. Trim off any hard bits from the cake and crumble the rest. Knead the frosting and, if desired, the powdered sugar into the crumbs with your hands. Shape the mixture into golf-ball-sized balls and place them on a board or baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Place in the freezer for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, cut off the tips of the shish kebab skewers. Melt 50g of chocolate coating over a bain-marie. Dip the skewers about 1.5cm into the chocolate and insert them into the dough balls. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Mix the chopped nuts and powdered sugar and caramelize in a dry pan, stirring occasionally, until brittle, then let cool. Melt the remaining chocolate coating over a bain-marie. Remove the pan from the heat, leaving the chocolate on the pan to keep warm. Dip the cake pops in the chocolate coating and sprinkle with brittle. Either place them back on the aluminum foil or place them in jars or a sieve to dry.