Birthday Cake

Recently, a friend with wheat allergies had a birthday. I offered to make a cake as I have an old recipe I hadn't made in years that I thought would do the trick. It's also kind of fun for the challenge to make something where you can't rely on all the old standbys. The cake itself is built on eggs and nuts. I wanted a high cake and I also wanted something more gourmet seeming, so I made two batches and layered it with ganache and mousse. To decorate it seemed like I had no choice but to try and make the spiked hazelnuts that were featured in Martha Stewart a while back. I think I may need to work on those, although some usable ones did make it onto the cake.

Hazelnut Torte

4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar - whirl these in blender
add:
2 tbsp flour ( I used Bulk Barn substitute that is a blend of bean,potato,tapioca and sorghum)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup hazelnuts
blend all on high until nuts are ground

Pour into 2 greased and floured 8" pans and bake at 350* for 20mins.
the cake is not a high riser but it has a wonderfully spongy texture that makes it moist and flexible. Definitely preheat your oven, as the batter is so quick and easy to make that you'll be done in a flash.