Giotto nougat cake with nut sponge cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 8 eggs
• 150 g sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 75 g flour
• 75 g cornstarch
• 200 g hazelnuts, ground
• 2 cups whipped cream
• 250 g mascarpone
• 80 balls of confectionery (Giotto)
• 200 g nougat

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 10 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 12 hours

particularly nutty

For the sponge cake, toast the hazelnuts in a pan without fat and let cool, e.g., on a piece of baking paper spread out. Preheat the oven to 175°C (top/bottom heat). Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks are stiff. Be careful not to include any egg yolks, otherwise they won’t stiff peaks. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla sugar until very creamy. Add the egg whites, but don’t mix yet! Mix the flour with the starch and hazelnuts and pour onto the egg whites. Now gently fold in using a spatula or whisk (not a mixer). Line the bottom of a springform pan with baking paper. Pour in the batter and bake the cake for approx. 55 minutes. At the end of the baking time, check whether the batter is cooked using a wooden skewer. Important: Do not open the oven door until near the end of the cooking time, otherwise the batter will collapse! Let cool on a wire rack. If necessary, loosen the edges with a knife; the baking paper can remain on until cutting. Let the cake base rest for several hours, if possible—or until the next day—so that it is easy to slice. For the cream, whip the cream until stiff and mix with the mascarpone. Set aside 12 Giotto pieces for decoration, and mash the rest in a bowl. This works well with a fork or a potato masher. Mix the cream mixture with the nut confectionery until smooth. Melt the nougat in a saucepan in the oven or microwave. Cut the cake base into three layers and spread the liquid nougat on the two bottom layers. Now layer the cake. First the bottom layer, then about 1 cm of cream, then the middle layer, about 1 cm of cream, and then finish with the last layer. Spread the entire cake top and sides with the remaining cream. Let it set well. Decorate with the remaining Giotto pieces before serving, and if desired, also with grated chocolate, chocolate flakes, and/or cream. Makes approx. 12 pieces.