I was recently invited to a Friendsgiving dinner and was wracking my brain for what to make that would be a little less typical than your classic roasted turkey or overwhelmingly sweet cranberry sauce. Naturally, I called my mom, whose food just happens to be some of the best I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying, and instantly she had the answer for me (as she usually does in times like these): our family's German Hazelnut Cake.

Its no secret that Europeans live a very different lifestyle than we do here in America, from the way they drive, to the way they teach their children, or in this case, the way they spend their afternoons. In Germany, every day in the mid-afternoon, families gather together for coffee and a light cake (a ritual that I could DEFINITELY adapt to). Because this gathering happens so frequently, they must constantly have their midday delicacy on hand, so my German family found the solution to curating the perfect treat, which just happens to be remarkably simple to make.

See our family recipe below for the foolproof Hazelnut Cake that you absolutely cannot go wrong with!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1 cup canola oil

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla (can substitute for 1 packet of German vanilla sugar, if you have a fancy grocery shop)

5 eggs

2 cups flour

2 cups ground hazelnut (best to bring hazelnuts in a food processor or blender)

2 tablespoons baking powder

*You'll need a bundt pan. From personal experience, some of the best ones come right from Target, so you can skip the Williams Sonoma run. I'll link a few below!

MAKE

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Grease the bundt pan, use butter rather than Pam because it will make for the perfect buttery finish

Then dust flour all over the inside of the buttered pan, when entire pan is covered in flour, make sure to shake out all excess flour into sink

Stir together all ingredients

Pour batter into well buttered pan

BAKE

Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees on lowest rack

TIPS

Bundt pans can sometimes be really tricky, so make sure to allow the cake to cool (with the bundt upside down on a plate) for at least 20 minutes in the pan once taken out of oven. When done cooling, SLOWLY pull the pan off of the cake and voila!

I wish I could show you all the final product, but unfortunately the bundt pan didn't cooperate and I lost the top half of the cake to the pan. So, I improvised by cutting the salvaged half into slices and sprinkled powdered sugar over the top to create a wintery looking finish.

Lesson learned: nobody's perfect.

XX

Photos by Michael.

Kitchen & puppy courtesy of the Sewell's.