Chocolate Hazelnut Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Rich cream cheese pound cake with a chocolate hazelnut swirl.

The other day I managed to get myself stuck in a tunic inside the Kohl’s dressing room. Please tell me I’m not the only one who has ever done this?

The tunic went on without a hitch and didn’t feel the least bit snug as I was pulling it over my head. It didn’t get stuck in the boob–yes, I said boob–region, and if anything is going to get stuck, that’s where it usually happens. The tunic slid right over everything and fell right into place. Heck, it even looked good.

I did a twirl and decided to move the hanger from the “Maybe” hook to the “Definitely” hook and proceeded to take off my new tunic as I checked off all the ways I was going to wear it in my head.

The wretched thing wouldn’t budge. I pulled, did a few gangsta body thrusts, and, at some point, even resorted to jumping up and down. I’m not sure why I thought jumping would solve the issue, but I figured I didn’t have anything to lose at that point. I was stuck in a tunic, how much worse could it get? After a few good contortionist moves,  I was able to shimmy the tunic over my boobs where it decided to get comfy and make itself at home.

At that point, my arms were over my head with the tunic inside out covering my face, and that’s when I began to panic. What if I have to call for help? My boobs! Some random stranger is going to see my boobs! They’ll be all up in their face while they try to rescue me from this dang tunic. I wonder if this has happened before–if some other poor soul had to be rescued from a tunic? 

My arms were flailing. I was jumping, twisting, thrusting, and shaking until finally the stupid thing came loose. I said prayer and swore never to ever again try on another tunic.

When I got home, I cut myself a big ol’ slab of this chocolate hazelnut cream cheese swirl pound cake and thought about stretchy pants and big, chunky sweaters.

I used my favorite cream cheese pound cake recipe that was given to me by one of my closest and sweetest friends. The cake bakes up perfect every time. This is my no means a healthy recipe. The recipe calls for 8-ounces of cream cheese, 2 sticks of butter, and 1/2 cup of margarine. Oh, and 6 eggs. So, yeah, not healthy, but extremely delicious and worth every calorie.

I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! for the margarine in this recipe. It’s made with real, simple ingredients that you can recognize: plant-based oils, purified water, and a pinch of salt. Its rich, buttery taste adds flavor to every recipe and can be used for spreading, topping, cooking, or baking.

Let’s talk pound cake. It’s name says it all. Traditionally, pound cake is made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. It’s a classic cake that has been around for ages. Honestly, I don’t think it gets enough attention. Anything that incorporates a pound of butter deserves a little attention.

This recipe is anything but plain. I added chocolate hazelnut spread and chopped hazelnuts to give it a little something extra and topped it with a mocha glaze. Who wants a piece?

This cake takes a bit longer to bake than the average cake, 1 hour and 20 minutes total. The dense batter equates to extra time in the oven. You’ll notice that this recipe doesn’t include any leavening agents, such as baking soda or baking powder. That isn’t a typo. The generous amount of eggs in this batter work to help the cake rise and give it volume.

When you pull the cake out of the oven, you’ll notice the golden crackly crust. Try not to eat all the crackly bits before removing the cake from the pan. The crackly bits is the very reason I love this cake so much. I tend to remove the bits and save them for snacking. I know that’s wrong, but I’m selfish–I want all the crackly bits to myself.

When you do go to take the cake out of the pan, some of the crackly bits will get a little unruly and fall off of the cake. I just shove them under the cake once it makes its way to the cake plate and glaze it. Whatever crackly bits don’t fit under the cake are yours for the taking.

This cake is delicious with or without the glaze. I like to freeze slices of this cake for later. I pull it out for breakfast to have with my morning coffee. If you’re going to freeze the cake, I recommend that you refrain from glazing the cake. The glaze doesn’t fair well in the freezer.

Visit I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! for more recipe inspiration. 

Print Recipe

Chocolate Hazelnut Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Rich, dense cream cheese pound cake with a chocolate hazelnut swirl and mocha glaze.

Yield: 1 (10-inch) bundt cake

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Cake: 

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room-temperature
• 1/2 cup margarine (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!)
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
• 1 cup chopped hazelnuts, divided

Glaze: 

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons strong coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Cake: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease a 10-inch bundt pan.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, cream cheese, margarine, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times in between. Mix in vanilla extract.
4. Add the flour in three batches with the mixer on low, scraping down the bowl in between batches.
5. Add 1/2 cup hazelnuts to the bottom of the prepared bundt pan. Spread half the batter over the hazelnuts. Using a spoon, make a shallow well in the batter.
6. Heat the chocolate hazelnut spread in the microwave to melt slightly. Evenly drizzle the spread in the shallow well. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of hazelnuts. Top with remaining batter. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Begin checking your cake at 1 hour and 10 minutes to prevent over baking.
7. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 1 hour. Transfer to a cake plate and cool completely. Top with mocha glaze.

Glaze: 

1. In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add coffee and vanilla extract; whisk until smooth.

All images and text ©One Sweet Mess.

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.