Hazelnut Gâteau Breton

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, lightly toasted, husked
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 cup salted butter, melted
• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, divided
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 2 teaspoons water (for glaze)
• Whole strawberries

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and butter a 9-inch springform pan.
2. Mix the sugar with the vanilla extract to make vanilla sugar. Make sure to break apart any lumps that form.
3. Now mix 2 tbsp of the vanilla sugar with the hazelnuts. Add them to a food processor or grinder and blend until the nuts form a fine powder.
4. Mix the 6 egg yolks with the rest of the vanilla sugar and whisk for 2 minutes. Then add the hazelnut mixture, then gradually add the melted butter. Keep whisking.
5. Now sift the flour over the batter and stir gently until just blended. Don't overmix; this is a thick batter and you don't want it to turn out rock hard.
6. Put the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Brush the egg glaze over the top, then draw some cross hatches with a fork.
7. Bake at 325 for about an hour, or until the cake is golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes, then loosen the springform pan and allow to cool completely. Serve with whole strawberries.