Email to Cat      

Hazelnut Truffles

Source of Recipe

From "Handmade Gifts from the Kitchen" by Alison Walker


Recipe Introduction

"I love making truffles, but my least favorite part is rolling them into balls as I tend to get covered in melted chocolate. Instead, I pour the mixture into a tray and cut them into squares once set. It's much quicker and these cubic delights look pleasingly different to the usual shapes."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ ½ cup heavy cream
â—¦ 4 ounces milk chocolate, broken into pieces
â—¦ ½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread
â—¦ 1 tablespoon corn syrup
â—¦ 3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
â—¦ Sunflower oil, for greasing
â—¦ Scant 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped


Recipe

Bring the cream to a boil in a small pan—this is important, otherwise the ganache won't thicken when beaten. Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Pour over the cream and stir once or twice. Set the bowl over a pan of very gently simmering water, add the spread, corn syrup, and butter. Let melt, stirring once or twice to combine. Set aside until cooled to room temperature.

When cool, beat the mixture with an electric mixer until soft, fluffy, and paler in color. Pour into a lightly oiled disposable foil container (7 inches by 5 inches) and put in the refrigerator to set.

Lay out a large piece of parchment paper on your counter and spread half of the chopped hazelnuts onto it. Retrieve the foil container from the refrigerator and snip its edges so that you can carefully peel them away. Turn out the truffle block onto a board. Cut into 1 ¼-inch cubes (you'll need to clean the knife with paper towels every few cuts) and transfer the truffles to the nut-covered parchment paper as you go. Sprinkle the remaining hazelnuts over the truffle cubes and roll, pressing gently, to cover them completely in the nuts. Transfer the truffles to petit-four paper cups and arrange in lidded boxes. Store in the refrigerator, where they can last for up to two weeks.

Makes about 35