Hazelnut Brown Butter Cake.

Doesn't everyone have a ritual when they return from a long trip? Walking through the front door, I stoop to pick up my cat who sits with her tail curved at her feet, chirping, almost exactly as I left her. More museum than home, my apartment is redolent of my neighbor's cigarettes and settled dust and cat litter.

Now I make a beeline for the oven. My place is on the small side, all the easier to sage out empty odors with the scent of melted butter, clove, cinnamon, vanilla. When I feel lazy, I bake only what I know how to make by heart. When I feel extra-assertive (and game for all the whisking, grinding, and other specifics this recipe requires), I make this hazelnut brown-butter cake.

My hazelnut obsession began soon after moving to Portland. They were everywhere! I went overboard, putting them in everything I possibly could, smearing hazelnut butter anywhere I saw fit. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit I've taken to picturing their taste when homesick, just as I do the damp winters (weird, right?) or the turning clouds above my building at the end of a rare sunny day. They make anything they're paired with taste even better. Peaches, pears, pork, wine. Everything. But the best thing to come out of my hazelnut craze has been this recipe for brown-butter cake.

I concede the recipe is a tad involved but your efforts will be rewarded. Your friends will be happy to help you polish off any lingering crumbs. In a pinch you can purchase hazelnut flour, but to be honest it's not worth a dime unless you grind it yourself. Save your money and buy them whole, raw, and in bulk. The cake is even better next day, but rarely does it make it that far. It's great on its own or with poached pears and a dollop of creme fraiche.

Hazelnut Brown Butter Cake

Adapted from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers At Lucques, via Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

5 ounces hazelnuts
1/2 pound unsalted butter
1/2 vanilla bean
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cups all-purpose flour
6 extra-large egg whites
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F.

2. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast 12 to 15 minutes, until they’re golden brown and smell nutty. If they still have their skins, put the hot hazelnuts into a clean towel and rub them to remove the bitter skins. Allow the hazelnuts to cool completely.

3. Cut out a circle of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of a 10-inch round cake pan. Brush the pan with a little melted butter and line the bottom with the paper.

4. Place the rest of the butter in a medium saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise down the center, using a paring knife to scrape the seeds and pulp onto the butter. Add the vanilla pod to the pan, and cook the butter until the butter browns and smells nutty (this took about 8 minutes for me). Every so often, scrape the bottom of the pan with your spatula to make sure the butter browns evenly. Remove and discard the vanilla bean.

5. In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts with the confectioners’ sugar until a fine meal forms. Add the flour and pulse to combine. Transfer to a large bowl.

6. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the granulated sugar and mix on high speed 4 to 5 minutes, until the mixture forms very stiff peaks. When you turn the whisk upside down, the peaks should hold. Transfer the whites to a large mixing bowl.

7. Fold the dry mix and brown butter into the egg whites, a third at a time. The vanilla beans tend to sink to the bottom of the brown butter, so be sure to scrape the bottom and use it all!

8. Pour the batter into your cake pan, and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Check the cake for done-ness at 40 minutes and continue every five minutes until a toothpick inserted at the cake's center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes. Run a small, sharp knife around the inside edge of the pan, and invert the cake onto a plate. Peel off the paper, and turn the cake back over onto a serving platter. Sprinkle it with powdered sugar.