Hazelnut and Chocolate Maple Cake

Maple syrup cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup maple syrup (preferably dark syrup for its robust flavour)
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Maple and hazelnut praline

• 1 cup blanched hazelnuts (from fine foods stores)
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 Pinch of salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Buttery maple cream

• 1 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 4 egg whites
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Chocolate fir trees

• 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• 4 oz milk chocolate, chopped
• 4 oz white chocolate, chopped

Maple syrup cake

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Place rack in centre of oven.
2. Butter three 20-cm (8-in) diameter cake tins. Line bottom with parchment paper.
3. In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Set aside.
4. Mix oil and maple syrup together. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix well.
5. Add sifted ingredients and stir in well. Pour batter into tins.
6. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes, then run a thin blade around cakes to separate from tin.
7. Remove cakes from tins and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Maple and hazelnut praline

1. In a large skillet, add hazelnuts and maple syrup and cook over high heat for 3 to 4 or until hazelnut-coloured. Add cocoa and salt, mix well and remove from heat. Spread on parchment paper and let cool.
2. Break praline into pieces, put into a food processor and add butter. Pulse until uniform but still granular texture.
3. Spread filling between cake layers.

Buttery maple cream

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring maple syrup to a boil without stirring until temperature reads 115 °C (240 °F) on a candy thermometer. (Tip: To keep syrup from bubbling up and overflowing, put a wooden spoon in the saucepan before heating.)
2. In a bowl, use an electric mixer at medium speed to beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
3. Drizzle hot maple syrup into beaten egg whites, avoiding mixer beaters. Beat continuously until meringue is slightly warm and stiff peaks form.
4. Add butter 1-2 teaspoons at a time, beating until very creamy. Be sure to carefully scrape bottom of bowl a few times.
5. Put icing on cake immediately.

Chocolate fir trees

1. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Using a pencil, draw three fir tree templates of different sizes. Set sheet aside.
2. Melt one of the chocolates in top of a double boiler.
3. Fit a pastry bag with a small plain tip. Fill bag with melted chocolate and draw several fir trees of different sizes on parchment paper, using your templates.
4. Repeat with remaining two chocolates to create fir trees of different colours and sizes.
5. Leave to solidify in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes before decorating cake.