Italian
Silvia’s Masterclass
From
Silvia’s Masterclass
season
1
Flourless Hazelnut, Chocolate and Espresso Cake
With
Silvia Colloca
Ingredients
150 gr unsalted butter
160 gr 70 % dark chocolate
45 gr dutch cocoa powder
Illy 50 ml espresso coffee
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
200 gr of firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs
120 gr of hazelnut meal
Pinch of salt
Serve with mascarpone and berries
Method
Heat your oven to 160 C
Melt the butter with the chocolate in a double boiler
Pour the hot coffee into a bowl with the cocoa powder and whisk until there are no lumps. Add the vanilla and mix. Add the cocoa mixture to the buttery melted chocolate and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, cream the yolks with the sugar with a whisk or an electric beater until fluffy then pour in the chocolate mixture. Add the hazelnut meal and stir to combine.
In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. This will take about 1 minute if using a hand-held electric beater. A fair bit more if doing by hand…Gently fold the egg whites through the chocolate mixture using a large metal spoon. Pour the batter into a 20 cm round cake tin, lined with baking paper. Bake for 40/45 minutes or until the edges are firm and the surface it slightly cracked and feels soft in the middle.
As it cools down, it will sink in a little creating the perfect opportunity to be topped with, berries , and mascarpone or both! You may dust it with icing sugar, cocoa powder or, if you feel exceedingly indulgent, coat it with molten dark chocolate
Silvia Colloca
Silvia Colloca is an Italian-born food writer, opera singer, TV producer and host. She has authored seven cookbooks, including Silvia’s Cucina, Made in Italy, La Dolce Vita, Love, Laugh, Bake!, Simple Italian (2024), and The Italian Homecook (2025), all published by Penguin.
Silvia’s most recent television work is Silvia’s Italian Masterclass (Channel 10), with its latest season airing in October 2025. The series is currently funding for Season 4. She has also appeared as a special guest on SBS’s Mastermind in 2025. Her earlier TV credits include the SBS Food series Cook Like an Italian, which has screened internationally across three seasons, as well as Made in Italy with Silvia Colloca (SBS), filmed on location in the Le Marche and Abruzzo regions and earning her a 2015 TV WEEK Logie Award nomination for Best New Talent. She also co-wrote, co-produced and hosted the ABC prime-time series Silvia’s Italian Table in 2016.
Outside of food and television, Silvia has enjoyed a career as a celebrated opera singer and actress. In 2022, she released her debut solo classical album with Universal Music, which topped the Classical Charts for over 20 weeks. That same year, she performed with Andrea Bocelli at his Sydney concert, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Inspiration Starts Here
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