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1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the hazelnuts in a baking pan and toast for 15 minutes, turning them occasionally. Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the heat to 250°F.
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2. While the hazelnuts are hot, rub them between kitchen towels to remove the skins. Chop 1 cup of the nuts fine and set them aside. Pulverize the rest in a blender or with a nut grinder or mortar and pestle. Stir them together with the grated unsweetened chocolate.
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3. With a pastry brush and 1 teaspoon of softened butter, coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch spring form cake pan. Sprinkle the pan with 2 tablespoons of the flour and tip it from side to side to coat it evenly. Then invert the pan and rap it sharply to remove the excess flour. Set aside.
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4. Cream the remaining ½ pound of butter, 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of the flour by mashing and beating them against the sides of the bowl with a large spoon. Then add the vanilla and beat in the egg yolks, one at a time.
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5. Combine the remaining flour with the nut-and-chocolate mixture, and beat in the butter-and-sugar mixture, a few tablespoons at a time. Continue to beat until the batter is smooth.
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6. Place the egg whites and a pinch of salt in a separate bowl and beat with a whisk or a rotary or electric beater until they form firm unwavering peaks on the beater when it is lifted from the bowl.
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7. With a rubber spatula, gently but thoroughly fold the egg whites into the batter, using an over-under cutting motion rather than a stirring motion. Pour the batter into the cake pan and sprinkle the top evenly with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
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8. Bake in the middle of the 250°F oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the sugar on top forms a crisp crust. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the sides of the pan and slide the cake off the base to a rack to cool completely.
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ICING:
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1. To prepare the icing, combine ¾ cup of sugar with the water, semisweet chocolate and coffee in a heavy 1- to l½- quart saucepan.
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2. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Do not let it boil. Set the icing aside to cool briefly.
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3. Then transfer the cake to a serving plate and immediately spread the top and sides with icing.
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4. While the icing is still soft, press the reserved chopped nuts into the sides of the cake.
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