Gianduia Sandwich Cookies Chocolate Hazelnut Recipes

GIANDUIA CHOCOLATES

Steps:

• Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking pan and line with plastic wrap, allowing a 2-inch overhang.
• Toast and skin hazelnuts. In a food processor pulse hazelnuts until finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Chop chocolates into 1/4-inch pieces, reserving 1 slightly mounded tablespoon bittersweet chocolate for tempering. In a double boiler or a metal pan set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt three fourths of chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and add remaining chocolate in 2 or 3 batches, stirring until smooth and allowing each batch to melt before adding next.
• When all of chocolate is melted, test its temperature: Put a dab of chocolate on the inside of your lower lip; it should be slightly cooler than your body temperature. If chocolate is too warm, add reserved chocolate, stirring until smooth.
• Stir hazelnuts and hazelnut butter into chocolate until combined well and spread mixture in pan. Chill confection, covered with plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours. Lift confection out of pan and peel off plastic wrap. On a cutting board with a sharp large knife cut confection lengthwise into 1-inch strips and cut strips crosswise into 1-inch squares. Chocolates keep, covered and chilled, 1 month.

GIANDUIA (GIANDUJA) (NUTELLA) (CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD)

Steps:

• Heat an oven to 150c (300f)
• Roast the hazelnuts for about 7 minutes and then roll them together between a teatowel to remove the skins, if you cannot get the skin off some you may need to bake them a little more but do not burn them, it is important to get almost all of the skin off the nuts.
• In either a coffee blender, spice blender, small food processor or blender add the skinned nuts and blend until you have a very fine powder, the more fine the better.
• Add in the oil and powdered sugar and blend thoroughly.
• Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler, or a microwave at 50% power for 1 minute, stirring and remicrowaving for 30 seconds at a time until it is completely melted.
• Add the hazelnut mix to the chocolate mix and stir in thoroughly, the mix will keep in the fridge for several weeks.

GIANDUIA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts out on small baking sheet or in an ovenproof skillet and toast them in the oven until they are a deep toasty brown, about 15 minutes. Remove the hazelnuts from the oven and set aside to cool completely.Melt the chocolate in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pot of simmering water over medium-low heat, stirring often.If serving the Gianduia immediately, place your bread in a 350 degrees F oven for 12 minutes.
• Grind the hazelnuts with the sugar in a food processor to a fairly smooth, buttery paste.
• Once the chocolate is completely melted, remove it from the heat and whisk in the cream and butter. Stir in the ground hazelnuts. The gianduia will thicken and become soft and peanut butter-like as it cools. Pour the mixture into small jars, or store in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
• Serve the gianduia with rustic slices of buttered toast.

TORTA ALLA GIANDUIA (CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
• Prepare a 9-inch springform pan: grease and line with parchment or wax paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs whites and salt until stiff but not dry (this means that they will hold their peaks, yet still appear glossy and smooth).
• In a separate bowl, beat the butter and Nutella together, then add Frangelico (or what you have chosen to use), egg yolks, and ground hazelnuts.
• Fold in the cooled, melted chocolate, then lighten the mixture with a dollop of egg white, which you can beat in as roughly as you want, before gently folding the rest of them in a third at a time.
• Pour into the prepared pan and cook for 40 minutes or until the cake's beginning to come away at the sides, then let cool on rack.
• Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until the aroma wafts upward and the nuts are golden brown in parts: keep shaking the pan so they don't burn on one side and stay too pallid on others.
• Transfer to a plate and let cool.
• This is imperative: if they go on the ganache while hot, it'll turn oily (believe me I speak from experience).
• In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, add the cream, liquer or water, and chopped chocolate and heat gently.
• Once the chocolate's melted, take the pan off the heat and whisk until it reaches the right consistency to ice just the top of the cake.
• Unmold the cooled cake carefully, leaving it on the base as it will be too difficult to get such a damp cake off in one piece.
• Ice the top with the chocolate icing, and dot thickly with the whole, toasted hazelnuts.
• If you have used Frangelico, put shot glasses on the table and serve it with the cake.

GIANDUIA GOLD CUPS

Steps:

• Stir milk chocolate in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water) until melted and smooth. Remove chocolate from over water. Whisk in Nutella and chopped hazelnuts.
• Stir bittersweet chocolate in another medium metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water) until chocolate melts and candy thermometer registers 110°F. (chocolate will feel warm to touch). Remove from over water. Using 1-inch-wide pastry brush, coat insides of candy cups with just enough chocolate to cover. Rewarm chocolate as necessary to maintain temperature. Place cups on baking sheet. Chill until chocolate is firm, about 15 minutes.
• Spoon enough hazelnut mixture into center of each chocolate cup to fill to within 1/8 inch of top (about 1 heaping teaspoonful in each cup). Refrigerate until filling sets, about 15 minutes.
• Rewarm remaining melted bittersweet chocolate in bowl set over barely simmering water to 110°F. Spoon enough chocolate over filling to cover and to fill cups completely. Immediately top each with whole nut. Refrigerate cups until firm, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead; refrigerate in single layer in airtight container.) Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.