This Eggless Ferrero Rocher Cake has layers of chocolate cake filled with hazelnut praline and whipped ganache filling and topped with a Nutella buttercream. This decadent cake is rich, chocolat-y and perfect for just about any celebration!

Chocolate and hazelnut is such a classic combination. It’s actually one of my favorite flavors in gelato (after pistachio)! I always make a celebration dessert for Sarvesh’s birthday, be it biscoff cheesecake, orange cranberry cake or a kulfi cake (which I never shared on the blog).

This year for his birthday, I made this Eggless Ferrero Rocher Cake. Ferrero rocher has been one of my favorite chocolates ever since I can remember and this cake has all those flavors combined into one decadent cake.

It has an eggless chocolate cake layer, filled with ganache and hazelnut praline filling and coated with Nutella buttercream. If you love chocolate and hazelnut, you are going to love this cake. I also decorated the cake with some ferrero rocher chocolate on top and toasted hazelnuts on the side.

Parts of the Recipe

There are 4 basic parts to this recipe. You can customize this cake to your preference. If you don’t want to do the extra work, simply skip the ganache and hazelnut praline filling. You can just layer the cake with the Nutella buttercream. It will be just as good!

Eggless chocolate sponge: this is a basic sponge made with flour, cocoa powder, sugar and oil. I have used flaxseed meal here (I ground the flaxseed myself but you can also get it from the market) which gives structure to the cake and basically replaces egg in this eggless cake.

Whipped ganache: for this recipe, I make a simple ganache made with chocolate chips and heavy cream and then let the ganache cool down. Once the ganache is cooled, then it’s whipped until light and fluffy and then used as a filling.

Hazelnut praline: a crunchy praline made with hazelnuts and sugar! I love the crunch that it gives to the cake.

Nutella buttercream: this is a creamy buttercream made with Nutella, butter and powdered sugar. You can use this buttercream in the entire cake and skip the hazelnut praline and ganache filling between the cake layers.

Step by Step Instructions

Make the eggless chocolate sponge

Spray two 8-inch round baking pans with non-stick spray and set aside. Also, preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.

1- To a measuring cup or bowl, add 1 cup milk. To that add 1 tablespoon white vinegar and stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes. This is homemade buttermilk.

2- In a bowl sift together:

• 2 cups all purpose flour (260 grams)
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder (62 grams)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

3- Stir until all the dry ingredients are well combined. Set this aside.

4- Now, make the flax egg. To a small bowl, add 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed (12 grams). To that add 4 to 5 tablespoons of water (this is 60 to 75 ml water). Stir with a spoon until it’s all uniformly mixed and then set aside for 10 minutes. During this time, the flaxseed will absorb water and transform into a sticky, gelatinous texture which is what we call as a flax “egg”.

5- To the steel bowl of your stand mixer (or use your hand mixer), add 1 & 1/2 cups sugar (300 grams) and 1/2 cup (120 ml) + 3 tablespoons (45 ml) canola oil. Mix using the paddle attachment on medium speed for 2 minutes until well combined.

6- Then add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and the prepared flax egg (which would have transformed into a gelatinous texture by now). Mix for a minute until combined.

Meanwhile also make a cup of hot coffee by mixing together 1 cup water with 1 teaspoon instant coffee.

7 & 8- Add half of the flour-cocoa powder mix and prepared buttermilk to the bowl and mix until combined.

9- Add the remaining flour and cocoa mix and mix until combined.

10- With the mixer running on medium speed, add the prepared 1 cup of hot espresso from the sides until it is all combined with the mixture.

11- The batter will be thin, that’s okay.

12- Divide the batter equally between two 8-inch round baking pans. Bake at 350 F degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Baking time may vary since every oven is different. My cakes were done in 30 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.

Make the whipped ganache and hazelnut praline filling

13- To a pan on low heat, add 1/8 cup sugar (25 grams). Do not stir and let the sugar melt.

14- The sugar will clump at first and then begin to melt and become smooth.

15- As soon as the sugar melts and caramelizes, add 1/4 cup blanched & toasted hazelnuts (38 grams) to it. Turn off the heat and stir until all the hazelnuts are well coated with caramelized sugar.

16- Transfer to a sheet of parchment paper and quickly spread it using a bench scraper or spatula. Let it cool down while you work on the ganache.

17- Place 5 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl and set aside. Add 5 oz heavy cream in a pan and put it on medium heat. Let it heat up, do not boil the cream but it should be warm. Remove cream from heat and pour it over the bowl of chocolate chips. Let sit for 5 minutes.

18- After 5 minutes, take a wire whisk and stir. The chocolate chips would have completely melted by now. Mix until it is all combined and you have a smooth ganache. Let the ganache cool down completely.

19- Transfer the cooled caramelized hazelnuts to a food processor. Pulse few times to break the praline. Do not crush it too much into a powdered form, you need some chunks.

20- To make the whipped ganache, take the cooled ganache and add it to the steel bowl (or you can also use a wire whisk), whip using the wire whisk attachment for 1 to 2 minutes until it’s fluffy, now fold in the prepared hazelnut praline into it using a spatula. The filling is now ready.

Make the Nutella Buttercream

21- Add 2 sticks of butter (I used salted butter) to the steel bowl of your stand mixer. Make sure the butter is at room temperature. Beat the butter for 2 minutes using the paddle attachment on medium speed until it’s smooth and creamy.

22- Now sift 3 cups powdered sugar (360 grams) and 3/4 cup cocoa powder (62 grams) in a bowl. Don’t skip the step of sifting, it results in a smoother buttercream. Add the sifted cocoa powder and powdered sugar into the bowl with the butter and mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Make sure speed is low else the sugar will blow everywhere.

23- Add 3/4 cup nutella and 1/3 to 1/2 cup cream (depending on how thin or thick you want the buttercream).

24- Mix on low speed first for 2 minutes, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 2 to 3 minutes until it all comes together and the buttercream is smooth and creamy. You can adjust the thickness of the buttercream at this point and add more cream to make it thinner.

Fill, frost and assemble the cake

25- Place one of the cooled chocolate layer on serving platter. Brush it with simple syrup (simply mix 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a pan and let the sugar dissolve, remove from heat. This is your simply syrup). Add the prepared hazelnut praline whipped ganache on top of the cake layer. Spread it evenly.

26- Place the second cake layer on top. Brush it with simply syrup.

27- Coat the cake with nutella buttercream from the top and sides.

28- Decorate with toasted hazelnuts (I crushed it a little using food processor) on the sides. I also used extra buttercream to make some swirls on the top. Enjoy!

Tips & Notes

• You can use the Nutella buttercream between the cake layers and totally skip the hazelnut praline and ganache filling. The recipe of Nutella buttercream will make enough to fill between layers and also coat the cake.
• This Eggless Ferrero Rocher Cake will stay good for 2 days at room temperature (covered). If you want to make it last longer, refrigerate it.
• Since this recipe has a lot of parts to it, you can make some things in advance like make the chocolate cake layer in advance. Wrap them with a cling sheet and store in the refrigerator. You can also make the Nutella buttercream in advance. Just whip it again before using. You may also need to add some cream to thin it up before frosting it.
• The ganache can also be made in advance but it firms up a lot as it sits. So, whip it up for 2 to 3 minutes using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or use your hand mixer).
• I have used blanched and toasted hazelnuts here. If using raw hazelnuts, you will need to roast them first in the oven. Roast at 350 F degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Then place in a towel and rub to remove skin. It’s okay if the skin from all the hazelnuts doesn’t come out. And then use in this recipe.

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