Carrot,hazelnut
andspeltcake
withhazelnut
gelato
SERVES8 // PREPTIME 40 MINS//
COOK1 HR 20 MINS(PLUS
FREEZING,RESTING)
“ThetownofChioggia,
commonlyreferredtoas
‘LittleVenice’,hasbeenvery
importanttoVenicethroughout
history,”saysZoccali.“It
suppliesherwithsuper-
premium,freshseafoodand
its highly sought-after carrots.”
HAZELNUTGELATO
670 mlmilk
145 gmcastersugar
30 gmskim-milkpowder
50 gmdextrose(seenote)
100 gmhazelnutpaste
(seenote)
CHOCOLATEICING
200 gmdarkchocolate
(70%cocoasolids)
200 mlthickenedcream
CARROT,HAZELNUTAND
SPELTCAKE
5 eggs,separated
220 gm(1cup)castersugar
410 gmcoarselygratedcarrot
295 gmgroundhazelnuts
60 gmspeltflour
½ tspbakingpowder
½ tspgroundcinnamon
20 mlrum
1 tspvanilla-beanpaste1 Forhazelnutgelato,half
fillthebasepanofa double
boilerwithwaterandbring
toa simmer.Placemilkin
doubleboilerovermedium
heat.Whenmilkreaches40°C
ona pastrythermometer,add
dryingredientsandraiseheat
to65°C.Continuecookingfor
30 minutesat65°C,stirring
regularly.Blendmixturewith
a stickblender,thenchurn
inanice-creammachineto
-4°C.Freezeuntilrequired.
2 Meanwhile,foricing,place
chocolateina heatproofbowl.
Bringcreamtoa simmerina
saucepanoverlowheat,then
pourcreamoverchocolateand
leavetostandfor 30 seconds,
thenstirthrough.Coverand
leaveatroomtemperature
until thickened (2 hours).3 Forcake,preheatovento
160°Candgreasea 25cm
springformcaketin.Whisk
eggwhitesanda pinchofsalt
ina stainless-steelbowluntil
lightandfluffysoftpeaks
form.Slowlyadd75gmsugar,
increasingspeedtohigh,until
stiffpeaksform.Inanother
bowl,beateggyolksand60ml
hotwaterwithanelectricmixer
onmediumspeeduntillight
andfoamy.Slowlyadd
remainingsugarandthenbeat
onhighspeeduntilpaleand
thick(3minutes).Inanother
bowl,combinecarrot,ground
hazelnuts, flour, baking powder,cinnamon,rumandvanilla-
beanpaste.Foldeggwhitesinto
thewhippedeggyolksuntil
combined,thenfoldintothe
carrotmixtureintwobatches.
4 Pourbatterintoprepared
tin.Bakeuntilcookedanda
skewerinsertedintothecentre
ofthecakewithdrawsclean
(50minutes).Removefromtin
andcoolona wirerack.Using
a spatula,spreadthechocolate
icingevenlyovercake.Serve
withgelato.
NoteDextroseandhazelnut
pastecanbeboughtatselect
delicatessens and grocers.●ThisextractfromVenetian
RepublicbyNinoZoccali
withfoodphotographyby
AlanBensonandlocation
photographybyAndreaButti
(MurdochBooks,$49.99,hbk)
hasbeenreproducedwith
minorGT style edits.