Finished Piedmont inspired hazelnut cake dusted with powdered sugar beside the open French magazine recipe.
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Piedmont Inspired Hazelnut Cake (Cake aux Noisettes)

ByKarolina Hours

The cake is in the oven as I write this.

A French food magazine is open on the counter. The kitchen smells of butter and toasted hazelnuts. Christopher, my six year old sous chef, has already decided that making the cake is only half the assignment. He would also like to be featured in the video.

Request granted.

At six, he has understood two important truths: cake is better when shared, and every kitchen needs good lighting.

A French recipe with a Piedmont memory

I bought this issue of Régal in France. When I found its recipe for Cake aux Noisettes, I immediately thought of the hazelnut groves, vineyard hills, cafés and chocolate traditions of Piedmont.

The recipe is by culinary writer Pauline Petillo for Régal. The version below is my English translation of the recipe as it appeared in the magazine I brought home.

I cooked it exactly as printed.

As a chef, this required discipline. I fought the desire to reduce, add, toast, infuse or otherwise introduce myself to the ingredient list. I wanted to taste the cake exactly as its author intended it.

The recipe asked for restraint. For once, the chef and the six year old were given the same instruction.

This is not a coffee flavored cake. It is the kind of tender hazelnut loaf that makes a cup of coffee feel invited.

Régal magazine open to the Cake aux Noisettes recipe, held in afternoon light.
The French magazine recipe that brought our Piedmont memories into the kitchen.
Régal magazine open to a hazelnut loaf cake recipe on a wooden table beside flowers.
Cake aux Noisettes, discovered in France and baked at home exactly as printed.

Why hazelnuts taste like Piedmont

Piedmont hazelnuts are not simply an ingredient associated with the region. They are a protected expression of its landscape. Nocciola Piemonte IGP is grown across the hills, foothills and mountain areas of Piedmont, where soil and a continental climate help shape its character.

The prized local hazelnut is known for its rounded form, crisp texture and refined, persistent aroma. Its thin inner skin releases readily during roasting, a practical detail that pastry chefs appreciate almost as much as its flavor. The harvest usually takes place in August and September, when ripe nuts fall naturally and are gathered in stages to protect their quality.

That combination of fragrance, sweetness and clean roasting character explains why Piedmont hazelnuts work so beautifully as whole nuts, chopped pieces, flour, paste and oil. This cake uses them twice. Hazelnut flour carries flavor through every slice, while chopped nuts give the loaf texture and a generous crust.

Fresh red poppies and white daisies gathered beside a field in the Langhe.
Poppies gathered along the road through the Langhe.

Where hazelnut meets chocolate

In Turin, hazelnuts found their most famous partner.

According to Italy’s official tourism site, chocolatier Michele Prochet combined cocoa with hazelnuts from the Langhe in 1865. The resulting gianduja became the base for gianduiotti, the small wrapped chocolates named after Turin’s Gianduja carnival character. Turin’s chocolate tradition still rests on that graceful balance of roasted nuts and cacao.

Gianduja is the more glamorous cousin at the family table. This cake is quieter. There is no chocolate in the batter, only hazelnut in several textures, which lets the ingredient speak without competition.

Panoramic view of Turin and the surrounding mountains from the Basilica of Superga.
Turin from Superga, looking toward the city whose chocolate tradition made hazelnuts famous.

Wine, food and the hills that hold them together

Food in Piedmont rarely feels separate from the land around it. The vineyard landscapes of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato are recognized by UNESCO for centuries of wine growing knowledge and for the relationship between native grapes, soils, cellars, farms, villages and cultivated hills.

Barolo and Barbaresco give Nebbiolo its grandest expressions. Barbera, Dolcetto, Moscato, Arneis and other regional grapes give the table its range. The same landscape supports a cuisine of agnolotti del plin, tajarin rich with egg yolks, bagna càuda, Fassona beef, mountain cheeses, white truffles and hazelnut desserts.

For serving, coffee is the easy answer. A Piedmont wine can make the connection even more specific. The regional tourism board recommends delicately sweet Asti Dolce DOCG with hazelnut cake. Loazzolo, a golden dessert wine made entirely from Moscato Bianco, is another beautifully local possibility.

We drank red wine while looking across the vineyards on our family trip. At home, the cake gives the memory a different hour of the day.

Wide view of vineyard covered hills, farms and villages across the Langhe in Piedmont.
The cultivated hills of the Langhe, where wine and food remain inseparable from place.
Glass of red wine and a ripe peach on a stone ledge at a family table in Piedmont.
A quiet glass of red wine during our family trip through Piedmont.
Vines, a small church and layered vineyard hills in the Langhe region of Piedmont.
Village, vines and cultivated hills folded into the Piedmont landscape.
Lavender, vines and a summer view across the Langhe.

Hazelnut Cake (Cake aux Noisettes)

Recipe credit: Pauline Petillo for Régal. Translated into English from the printed magazine recipe and cooked without changes.

Serves
6 to 8

Prep time
20 minutes

Bake time
40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 350 g granulated sugar
  • 250 g all purpose flour
  • 100 g hazelnut flour or finely ground hazelnuts
  • 80 g chopped hazelnuts, divided
  • 150 g semi salted butter
  • 25 cl (250 ml) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 whole eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
  2. Melt the butter, then stir in the heavy cream.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, whole eggs and egg yolks. Add the butter and cream mixture and mix well until smooth.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the all purpose flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder and 60 g of the chopped hazelnuts.
  5. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.
  6. Pour the batter into a buttered loaf pan lined with parchment paper and lightly dusted with flour.
  7. Sprinkle the remaining 20 g chopped hazelnuts over the top.
  8. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
  9. Let the cake cool before removing it from the pan. Dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.

Christopher takes the whisk

Christopher wanted to make this one with me, and he wanted the full process recorded for an Instagram Reel. He measured, mixed and kept a close eye on the most important question: when would the cake be ready?

Six year old Christopher mixing hazelnut cake batter in a large bowl.
Sous chef Christopher, age six, taking charge of the hazelnut cake batter.
Christopher adding chopped hazelnuts to the cake batter before baking.
The sous chef adds the final chopped hazelnuts before the cake goes into the oven.
Christopher tasting hazelnut cake batter from the spatula.
Quality control began before the cake reached the oven.

My sous chef is six, very serious about whisking, and apparently already has a media strategy.

The finished Reel will include the complete recipe, from the magazine on the table to the first slice.

A freshly cut slice revealing the moist crumb and chopped hazelnuts inside the finished cake.
The first slice revealed a buttery, moist crumb and plenty of crunchy hazelnuts.
A thick slice of hazelnut cake dusted with powdered sugar on a floral plate.
A generous slice ready for the six year old sous chef and official cake critic.

Christopher’s review was immediate: 10 out of 10. Buttery, crunchy hazelnuts, super moist.

That is the complete tasting note from the youngest member of the kitchen team. It is also difficult to improve.

The first slice, followed by Christopher’s official verdict: 10 out of 10.

A Piedmont story continued at home

Our earlier story, Following the Scent: Truffle Hunting in Piedmont, began in the woods outside Alba. This companion piece stays at the sweeter end of the regional table, with hazelnuts, Turin’s chocolate history and the wines that turn dessert into its own course.

We found the recipe in France, remembered Piedmont, and baked it at home with a very enthusiastic six year old. That is a satisfying itinerary for one loaf cake.

Sources and further reading

Recipe credit: Pauline Petillo for Régal. This article uses an English translation of the recipe as printed in the magazine purchased in France. The recipe was cooked as written, without changes.

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