Chocolatedatehazelnutmeringuetorte Recipes

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 225°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper.
• In medium bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on low speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium; gradually add 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high; gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, the powdered sugar and cocoa, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating 2 to 4 minutes or until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Fold in hazelnuts.
• Spoon mixture into decorating bag fitted with large open star tip. Onto cookie sheets, pipe meringues about 1 inch apart.
• Bake 1 hour 35 minutes. Turn oven off; leave meringues in oven with door closed 2 hours. Store tightly covered at room temperature up to 1 week.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT TORTE

Steps:

• Make torte:
• In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt chocolate, stirring until smooth, and cool.
• Spread hazelnuts in a shallow baking pan and toast in oven until they begin to turn pale golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Cool hazelnuts completely. Discard any hazelnut skins that rub off easily and transfer nuts to food processor. Add 3 tablespoons sugar and grind mixture fine.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and remaining 2/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in vanilla, salt, and melted chocolate. Beat in hazelnut mixture until combined well.
• In another large bowl with cleaned beaters beat whites with a pinch salt until they just hold stiff peaks. Whisk about one-fourth whites into chocolate mixture to lighten and fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Spread batter evenly in springform pan and bake in middle of oven 45 to 55 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering. Cool torte completely in pan on a rack and remove side of pan. Invert torte onto a serving plate and discard wax paper.
• Make glaze:
• Put chocolate in a small metal bowl. In a small saucepan bring cream to a boil and pour over chocolate. Stir glaze just until completely smooth and let stand until thickened slightly, about 20 minutes.
• Spread glaze evenly over top and side of torte. With a small icing spatula or butter knife make parallel lines through glaze across top to create a design. Garnish top and bottom edge of torte with chopped hazelnuts and let torte stand until glaze is set, about 2 hours.
• Serve torte with whipped cream or ice cream.

CHOCOLATE, DATE & HAZELNUT MERINGUE TORTE

Steps:

• Cake:.
• Preheat oven to 180c (170C fan forced).
• First, prepare the nuts. Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and bake at 180C for exactly 8 minutes (set a timer so you don't burn them).
• Remove nuts from oven, wrap in a tea towel and then rub firmly to remove as much skin as possible. You may have to do this a couple of times and rub stubborn ones between your fingers. Don't fuss too much if some skin won't come off - just get rid of as much of the loose papery stuff as possible.
• Put skinned and roasted hazelnuts into a food processor and chop roughly. Place nuts into a medium mixing bowl.
• Now break up the chocolate and place it in the food processor and chop roughly. Don't worry if it's not evenly chopped, some will be like grated chocolate, and you'll have some larger bits. That's fine. Just don't overchop it. Add chocolate to nuts in mixing bowl.
• Cut dates in half then process in a food processor until finely chopped, but be careful not to pulverise them to mush. Add dates to mixing bowl.
• Using your hands or a spoon, mix nuts, chocolate and dates well.
• Now, spray a 22-24cm (9") springform tin with spray oil and line base and sides with silicone paper. Paper should come 2.5cm-5cm (an inch or two) over the top of the tin.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then add sugar, 1 tablespoon a time, beating after each addition, until all the sugar is used. Continue beating until mixture is stiff and glossy.
• Note: If you don't have a large mixer, it's a good idea to divide the egg whites and sugar in half and beat each half in a different medium sized bowl.
• Using a spatula, gently fold date, hazelnut and chocolate mixture into the egg whites until well combined.
• Spoon mixture evenly into prepared tin, smooth top and bake on the centre shelf of the oven at 180C (170C fan forced) for 50 minutes.
• After 50 minutes, turn off oven, but DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! Leave the cake in the oven overnight (or at least for several hours until the oven is completely cold) without opening the door.
• The next morning, you can remove the cake from the oven and decorate it just before serving.
• Ganache:.
• It's best to make the chocolate ganache the day before too. Simply bring the cream to a boil, remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted. Pour into small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, remove the ganache from the refrigerator and sit on the kitchen bench until it comes back to room temperature (this will take at least 2 hours).
• Decoration:.
• Just before serving, remove cake from springform tin onto a serving plate.
• Add sugar and vanilla to whipping cream and beat with electric mixer until thick.
• Spread whipped cream over the top of the cake.
• Spoon room temperature ganache into a piping bag with a large star nozzle fitted.
• Pipe rosettes around the perimeter of the cake and one large rosette in the centre.
• Remove stems from strawberries and cut strawberries in half.
• Pile strawberries (or berries of your choice) onto the top of the cake.