Roasted Hazelnut Cake with dark Chocolate

Hello Sweet Ladys and Gentlemen,

it is mid november, the leaves on the trees are nearly all gone, its getting colder every day and it is raning all day. Every time I go out the house, there's a freezing cold breeze and a thick layer of fog, covering the tiny houses in the valley down the hill. These days, warming cups of tea, sweet cakes and bisquits are the best treat after a long walk in the dark and grey woods.
Yesterday, I placed some nuts and seeds for the birds on my balcony and all the little titmouses came and had a real feast. I love watching the birds, it is really relaxing and calms me down. Another thing that calms me down is baking. I love playing with my ideas and creating new recipes. It makes me so happy when I make something and someone else loves it. This weekend I felt like making something with nuts and chocolate. When I was a child, my mother used to alsways bake a hazelnut cake and I absoluteley loved it. So I combined the cake my mum used to make with some of my own spices and Ideas.
Out of it, came a perfectly sweet and nutty flavoured cake that made the house smell like happy winter afternoons when I was little.

Combining the roasted nut aroma with a little bit of dark chocolate and marzipan makes it the perfect cake for the cold season.
It is really simple but it tastes like so much more. A delightful cake that beautifies every sunday coffee table.
I hope that you enjoy this cake as much as I do. Have a great week everyone!

Recipe:

200g grated hazelnuts 

250g all purpose flour

4 eggs

250g unslted butter

200g brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

a pinch of salt

3 drops of almond extract

2 tsp baking powder

200g dark chocolate

a piece of fresh marzipan

-A Winter Piece-

When shrieked
  The bleak November winds, and smote the woods,
    And the brown fields were herbless, and the shades
      That met above the merry rivulet
        Were spoiled, I sought, I loved them still; they seemed
          Like old companions in adversity

William Cullen Bryant

 Prepration:

Preheat your oven to 170 °C. Then, put the greated almonds and the cinnamon in a large pan and roast them over medium heat until they get a little bit golden brown. Now, mix the eggs, softened butter and sugar until it gets a light and fluffy consistency. Following, add the dry ingredients (flour, almonds, baking powder) and at last add the salt and almond extract. Mix well, until it is all combined. If the batter is too thick, you can add a little bit of milk. Take a bundt cake pan and grease it with a little bit of butter. Then, pour the batter in it nd smoot the top with a spoon. Bake it for 45-50 minutes, until it gets a little bit brown on top. Let it cool completeley and get it out of the pan. Then, melt the cohocolate, pour it over the cake and make little balls out of the marzipan to decorate the cake.