save my cake

[renshiwo]

I made a Queen of Sheba cake from Joy of Cooking (basically a chocolate torte with a bit of nuts - I used hazelnuts) for a friend's birthday. I tasted a bit of the cake and find it too sweet, with hardly any nut flavor at all.

How should I ice and decorate the cake to improve the overall flavor? I was thinking whipped cream with toasted hazelnuts and grated chocolate. Would a bittersweet chocolate glaze be better for making the flavor a bit... darker?

[renshiwo]

Thanks all. I went with the whipped cream (sans sugar) and toasted hazelnuts, served with coffee. It was verrrrry rich, but good in small doses.

[chloe103]

One thing you could do if you wanted to boost the hazelnut flavour is drizzle the cake with some Frangelico. Poke holes all over the cake with a wooden skewer, penetrating about 1/2 the way down, pour over a tablespoon or two of Frangelico, wait until it is absorbed, and repeat.

[MeffaBabe]

If you really want the nut flavor try some nutella in between the layers then frost with whipped cream and sprinkled with finely ground toasted hazelnuts.

[jazzy77]

Use a bittersweet chocolate glaze (or ganache, if you want it to be really rich) - make sure that you flavor it with some espresso or coffee liquor as well. That will contrast with the the sweetness of the torte. Top with some nice dollops or pipe with some hazelnut whipped cream, but not much - or better yet, serve the whipped cream on the side.

Serve it with coffee flavored with frangelico. The bitterness of the coffee will offset the sweetness of the torte, and all the flavors will tie together.

[lmoy]

I think it's a good idea to neutralize the rich sweetness of the cake with some whipped cream. Or you could try a cream cheese frosting and reduce the amount of sugar in it. Add almond extract and/or chopped toasted nuts to the frosting to up the nuttiness.