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Wait.

Is it already time for another Daring Bakers‘ challenge?

I swear sometimes I think there’s an evil little elf somewhere pressing the fast forward button about halfway throught the month so that the last two weeks just fly by and next thing you know it’s time to start all over again!

In case you haven’t already been dazzled by the entries of other members, here’s what you need to know: our lovely hostess this month is Chris of Mele Cotte who chose a Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream from Carole Walters’ Great Cakes.

I’m heading out on vacation in a few days and so for the last month I’ve been trying desperately to clean out my pantry. As a result, I did not use filberts (hazelnuts) for this dessert but rather almonds.

The cake starts with a sponge base that is made with ground nuts (in my case almonds). It’s a very tasty and delicious (and surprisingly sturdy) base for the cake.

The other elements of the cake were all familiar to Daring Bakers. We’ve certainly made buttercream before! But in this case we made a praline buttercream which began with a praline paste. I have numerous recipes that call for praline paste that I’ve avoided making because I’ve never had a recipe for the paste. Well now, thanks to Chris, I have one.

Again I made mine with almonds but it was simply delicious and the buttercream … one of the best I’ve made in awhile.

And of course, cover anything in a chocolate glaze and how can you go wrong?

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I’m keeping this post short but I just want to thank Chris and urge all of you to visit the Daring Bakers’ blogroll to see what all the other great bakers did.

Ciao!

For the cake recipe, please visit Chris’ site.