Ingredients

Hazelnut Tea Cake Batter

75g unsalted butter
150g ground hazelnuts
135g icing (powdered) sugar
21g plain (all-purpose) flour
150g eggs (3), room temperature
1 vanilla pod / 1 tsp vanilla extract

Caramel

20g unsalted butter
60g caster or granulated sugar
65ml whipping cream (minimum 30% fat), cold
Pinch sea salt

Method

Hazelnut Tea Cake Batter

Melt the butter in the saucepan on a medium to high heat. Once melted, continue to boil until brown flecks appear at the bottom of the pan (brown butter). Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Sift the flour and icing sugar together into a large mixing bowl, add the ground hazelnuts and vanilla extract or the contents of a scraped vanilla pod.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the eggs. Using a whisk, stir in the centre while gradually incorporating more and more dry ingredients from the sides until the mixture is completely smooth. Add the browned butter and stir into the mixture. Place the mixture directly into a piping bag or cover with a piece of cling film touching the surface of the mixture and chill in the fridge overnight (or a minimum of 6 hours).

Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F (fan oven) or 190°C/375°F (conventional oven), pipe or spoon the chilled mixture into silicone or non stick metal moulds, filling 3/4 way up. Bake for fifteen minutes or until the cakes begin to golden. Once baked, remove from the oven, leave to cool for a few minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.

Caramel

Heat the cream until simmering and keep on a low heat to stay warm. In a separate medium sized saucepan, place on a medium-high heat and sprinkle a little sugar on the bottom. Once melted, continue to sprinkle on the sugar gradually, picking up the saucepan and swirling from side to side to help the sugar melt.

Once all of the sugar is in the pan, use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir the caramel and remove any bits of sugar stuck to the sides. Once the sugar has completely melted, has a deep amber colour and begins to lightly smoke, remove from the heat and add the butter in 2-3 goes and whisk in. Once incorporated, add the warm cream in several goes, whisking between each addition.

Return to a low heat and gently melt any bits of caramel that may have stuck to the edges of the pan. Add a pinch of sea salt flakes and stir in. Once the hazelnut tea cakes have cooled, transfer to a piping bag and pipe inside each cake.