Name: Torta di nocciole piemontese
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 38 min
Total time: 1 h 48 min
Cuisine: Italian, Piedmontese
Ingredients: 250 g toasted peeled hazelnuts, completely cool; 4 large eggs, separated; 180 g caster sugar, divided; 50 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 35 g plain flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 pinch fine sea salt; 1 tsp vanilla extract, optional; 1 tbsp icing sugar, optional

Torta di nocciole piemontese: wide hero view of the finished traditional dish

Prep25 minutes

Cook38 minutes

Total1 h 48 min

Yield8 slices

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The dish

About Torta di nocciole piemontese

Hazelnuts are one of Piedmont’s defining ingredients, especially in the Langhe and around Cortemilia, where hazelnut cakes are a local specialty.

There is no single household formula: versions range from nearly flourless cakes to recipes with modest flour or butter. This version deliberately keeps additions restrained so the nuts lead.

Grinding toasted hazelnuts after they are completely cool prevents oil from separating. Folding aerated eggs carefully gives lift without making the cake dry.

The cake should cool before slicing. Warm nut cakes are fragile; a short rest firms the crumb while preserving moisture.

Technique

Three things that matter

Toast for aroma. Hazelnuts should smell intensely nutty but never scorched.
Grind only when cool. Warm nuts release oil and can turn into paste.
Fold gently. The egg foam supplies much of the cake’s lift.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Cake

250 gtoasted peeled hazelnutscompletely cool
4large eggsseparated
180 gcaster sugardivided
50 gunsalted buttermelted and cooled
35 gplain flour
1 tspbaking powder
1 pinchfine sea salt
1 tspvanilla extractoptional

To finish

1 tbspicing sugaroptional

Step by step

Method

Prepare the hazelnuts and batter

Toast and cool. If hazelnuts are not already roasted, toast at 170°C for 8–10 minutes, rub off loose skins and cool completely.
They should smell sweet and nutty with no burnt spots.
Grind finely. Pulse cooled hazelnuts with 30 g of the sugar to a fine meal.
Stop before the mixture clumps into nut butter.
Whip yolks. Beat yolks with about half the remaining sugar until pale and thick, then mix in cooled butter and vanilla.
The ribbon should sit briefly on the surface.

Build the foam

Whip the whites. Beat whites with salt, adding remaining sugar gradually, to medium-stiff glossy peaks.
Peaks should stand with a slight curl rather than look dry.
Combine dry ingredients. Mix hazelnut meal, flour and baking powder, then fold into the yolk base.
The mixture will be thick but evenly nutty.
Fold in whites. Fold a quarter of the whites in to loosen, then gently fold the rest in two additions.
No large white streaks should remain and the batter should still feel airy.

Bake and mature

Fill the tin. Spread batter level in the prepared tin without pressing out air.
The surface should settle naturally with a slight dome.
Bake. Bake at 175°C for 32–38 minutes.
A skewer should emerge with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
Cool before slicing. Cool 15 minutes in the tin, turn out and leave at least 30 minutes more. Dust lightly with icing sugar if desired.
The crumb should cut cleanly and smell strongly of toasted hazelnut.

Practical guidance

Regional variation

Piedmont hazelnut cakes vary widely in flour and butter content; this is a home-scale Langhe-style interpretation rather than a claim of one legally fixed formula.

Hazelnut quality

Fresh well-toasted nuts matter more here than elaborate flavourings.

Serving

Excellent plain with coffee; whipped cream or zabaglione can accompany it without needing to be baked into the cake.

Troubleshooting

The cake is oily. Hazelnuts were ground warm or too long. Cool fully and pulse rather than running the processor continuously.
It sinks heavily. Egg whites were under-whipped or deflated during folding. Use glossy medium-stiff peaks and a broad spatula.
The crumb is dry. The cake baked too long. Remove when a tester still carries a few moist crumbs.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 1/8 cake
Calories: approximately 450 kcal
Carbohydrates: 35 g
Protein: 9 g
Fat: 31 g
Fibre: 4 g
Sodium: 120 mg

Estimate includes butter and flour in this home interpretation.

Allergens and food safety

Hazelnuts, eggs, wheat and dairy are major allergen considerations.

Allow roasted nuts to cool before processing to avoid overheated oils and paste formation.

Store the cake covered; refrigerate only if topped with perishable cream.

FAQ

Is Piedmont hazelnut cake always flourless?

No. Regional and family formulas vary from flourless to flour-light versions. The defining feature is the high proportion of roasted hazelnuts.

Can pre-ground hazelnut flour be used?

Yes, if fresh and aromatic; briefly toasting it is riskier because fine meal burns quickly.

Why cool the cake before cutting?

Nut-rich crumbs are fragile while hot and become cleaner, moister slices after resting.

Final note

What matters most

Result: A moist, tender Piedmont cake with concentrated roasted-hazelnut flavour and a light enough crumb to avoid feeling heavy.
Key: Toast well, grind only cooled nuts and preserve the egg foam through gentle folding.