Chocolate-hazelnut truffles part 1

30 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 cup Whole hazelnuts
1 cup Sugar
8 ounces Semisweet chocolate; finely chopped
½ cup Unsalted butter; chilled and cut into 8 pieces
3 tablespoons Brewed coffee
1 tablespoon Hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico
⅔ cup Hazelnut Praline
Unsweetened cocoa powder
12 ounces Semisweet chocolate; finely chopped
6 tablespoons Hazelnut praline

Directions

HAZELNUT PRALINE

TRUFFLES

COATING

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.

******************************************************* ************ TO COMPLETE, FOLLOW "TRUFFLE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS, PART 2" ******************************************************* ************ Source: Corby Kummer's "Joy of Coffee"

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