Chocolate Hazelnut Smooches Recipes

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350*F.
• Prepare cake pans by rubbing the sides of the pans with a little oil or butter and dusting with flour. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl (the bowl of an electric mixer), stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute.
• Stir in hot water or coffee (the batter will be thin, don't worry, this is right).
• Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
• Bake until the top of the cake is smooth and has a slight dome and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I baked the cake shown in three 7" pans and baked them about 30 minutes. You will need to adjust the bake time based on the pans you choose.
• Cool completely before frosting. I like to cool the cakes at room temperature a bit, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until cold and firm (30 minutes or up to a couple days).
• Chill your mixing bowl and beater(s) in the freezer for 5 minutes. This will help the whipping cream whip up nice and quickly.
• Pour the heavy cream into the chilled bowl, then beat until it begins to thicken. Slowly add half (1/2 cup) of the powdered sugar, while mixing. Continue to beat until the cream has almost doubled in volume and is nice and fluffy.
• Remove whipped cream from mixing bowl (into another bowl), and set in the fridge.
• In the mixing bowl (empty, but no need to clean fully), add the cream cheese. Beat until smooth.
• Add the remaining (1/2 cup) powdered sugar and mix until fully combined.
• Add the hazelnut spread to the smooth cream cheese, and blend until fully combined. Add vanilla and blend.
• Retrieve the whipped cream from the fridge and add one large scoop (about a cup) of whipped cream into the mixing bowl with the hazelnut spread/cream cheese mixture. Blend slowly (using the whisk attachment), until combined.
• Add the remaining whipped cream to the bowl and use a spatula to gently fold/stir the whipped cream into the hazelnut mixture.
• Fill and frost your prepared (cooled) cake as desired. You should have plenty of frosting to cover the cake and some remaining for decorative touches (to be added later). Move frosted cake to the freezer if you plan to add chocolate glaze (recipe follows).
• Once the cake is frosted, if desired, add a chocolate hazelnut glaze by combining 2 T. chocolate chip and 3 T. hazelnut spread in a small bowl and microwave (at 50% power) 30 seconds at a time until mostly melted. Stir to combine. Cool slightly, then pour onto the top of the frosted (and chilled) cake. Spread almost (but not quite) to the edge. Top chocolate layer with chopped hazelnuts.
• If desired, add remaining hazelnut whipped cream frosting to a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip and add decorative swirls (as pictured) around the top edge of the cake. Top each swirl with a whole hazelnut.
• Keep the cake in the fridge until ready to serve. Keep any remaining cake in the fridge.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT SMOOCHES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In another medium bowl, place the chocolate hazelnut spread, butter, and both sugars. Using a hand mixer, cream the ingredients together, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and blend until incorporated. Stir in the dry ingredients, just until incorporated.
• Shape the cookie dough into walnut-sized balls. Rolls the balls in the orange sprinkles or orange sugar, pressing to adhere. Place the cookies on a heavy cookie sheet about 4 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven. Quickly place a chocolate kiss in the middle of each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for another 3 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SMOOCHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bring large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda. Drop in the hazelnuts, bring back to a boil, and blanch 10 seconds. Drain hazelnuts in a colander, then spread out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place in oven and roast 8 to 10 minutes until light brown. Remove from oven, place a kitchen towel over the pan, and allow to cool completely.
• Rub cooled hazelnuts between your palms; the skins should slip right off. Set aside 50 whole hazelnuts. Grind the rest very fine in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and set aside.
• Place sugar and heavy cream in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Add the chopped chocolate, let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter. Pour the ganache into the bowl of an electric mixer and allow to cool until set. Fit the machine with a paddle and beat the set ganache on medium speed until aerated and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the reserved ground hazelnuts and the liqueur if using. Beat well to thoroughly combine.
• Load mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Pipe out 1/2-inch balls. On top of each ball, press in one of the reserved whole toasted hazelnuts until it is halfway buried. Place pan in refrigerator to chill completely.
• To coat, place tempered chocolate in a medium bowl. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Get yourself 2 forks. Place one nut-topped ball on the prongs of one fork, nut up. Lower the fork into the melted chocolate, covering completely. Lift fork up, pause 3 seconds to allow excess chocolate to drip off, then run bottom of fork along top of bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place fork on paperlined pan and use second fork to push off the candy while you withdraw the first fork (it's easier than it sounds). Keep the nut up at all times. Repeat with remaining centers. If it's warm out, place the finished candies in the refrigerator to set; otherwise they will set at cool room temperature (65 degrees).
• Both of these candies make great Christmas presents packed into little boxes or baskets. They are involved but can be done easily in large batches. One day of work can yield many gifts. You can make a double of triple batch of truffle ganache and divide it, beating different flavorings into different parts.