Ingredients
HAZELNUT PRALINE
1 cup whole hazelnuts
1 cup sugar
TRUFFLES
8 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 8 pi
3 tbsp brewed coffee
1 tbsp hazelnut liqueur (frangelico
2/3 cup hazelnut praline
1 unsweetened cocoa powder
COATING
12 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tbsp hazelnut praline
Directions
Make the praline: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the
hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Toast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the
smell permeates the air. To see if the nuts are toasted, cut one in
half; it should be golden brown in the center. Remove from the oven
and let cool slightly. To remove the skins, place the nuts on a towel
and rub; the skins will slip off.
2. Lightly oil a sheet of foil; set aside.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the sugar, stirring
occasionally. It should start to melt after about 6 minutes. The
sugar will be lumpy and granular, and look like a mistake.
Persevere!. Within the next few minutes, those lumps will melt into a
smooth, amber-colored liquid. Lower the heat and stir in the toasted
hazelnuts, coating the nuts thoroughly. The mixture will be very
sticky. Immediately scrape the mixture with a metal spoon (do not use
a rubber spatula) onto the foil, spreading it out. Use a metal spoon
dipped in water to flatten it. The praline will become brittle and
difficult to pour as soon as you remove it form the heat, and you
will not be able to scrape every last drop from the pan -- don't
worry. (To clean the pan, soak it in hot, soapy water. The sugar will
dissolve.)
4. Let the praline cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Break
it into pieces and put it in a food processor. Pulse to chop as
finely as possible into a lumpy powder. You should have 2 cups; the
praline can keep idefinitely in an airtight container in the freezer.
Make the truffles: 5. In a microwave-safe medium bowl, combine the
chopped chocolate and the butter. Heat on high for 1 minute. Stir
until smooth. If the chocolate is still fairly solid, heat for
another 30 seconds. Stir the mixture until smooth. If there still
seem to be several unmelted pieces of chocolate, heat again for about
20 seconds, and then stir.
6. Add the coffee and hazelnut liqueur and stir until smooth.
7. Add the hazelnut praline and mix in thoroughly.
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TO COMPLETE, FOLLOW "TRUFFLE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS, PART 2"
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Source: Corby Kummer's "Joy of Coffee"
Servings: 30 servings
Chocolate-Hazelnut Truffles Part 1 Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Candy; Chocolate; Dessert
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to follow the history of recipes back into the distant past, at least as far as pharonic Egypt, and maybe even further. In practice though, these, early recipes were just primitive hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing meals.
Interestingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to academics is a collection of tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel blissful. Progressing into The time of the romans around 25BC a man called Apicius assembled a number of scripts describing recipes enjoyed by his fellow Romans. In his publication, he tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into hors d`oeuvres, main course and desserts, a style of dining still practiced today. This early Roman chef describes how the Roman cooks used many aromatic flavors, including a few that will be familiar to modern cooks for example basil, rue and parsley. Later, in the 15th century, the Crusaders brought back many foods and spices from Arab cuisine, including spices such as coriander, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new tastes caused a torrent in books on cooking, many of which still exist in private collections. During the next few hundred years, the powerful families of Wesstern Europe competed with each other to serve the most extravagent meals, and because of this chefs and their recipes were at a premium. However, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that fine cooking and recipe collections became really popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collecting, trying out, and publishing recipes of the day. By the time we get to the twentieth century, recipe publications were in high demand, as a result of higher levels of literacy, leisure time and having more disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles Part 1 recipe.
