Hazelnut Cake with Coffee Icing

Published in 1925, The Gentle Art of Cookery devotes a number of pages to recipes that will intrigue the modern home baker, including this elegant buttercream-cloaked hazelnut cake. Its texture is delightfully spongy, and its nutty flavor is perfectly rounded off by the rich coffee-infused icing. Although the cake requires no decoration, roasted halved or whole hazelnuts would be a nice addition, especially if they are treated to a shiny caramel coating before they are placed on top.