Hazelnut Recipes ….

Garnish! Ingredient! & a very beautiful addition to all sorts of Pralines!

Hazelnut is one of those nuts you would definitely want in your pantry if you are a bakery chef! From being used in cakes as a filling, to be being used as hazelnut meal in the making of meringues it has been a delight. Hazelnut paste is also one of the key ingredient in making of the delectable, beauty called “Paris Brest”.

Paris Brest

Perhaps this is one hazelnut flavored dessert which in its true sense speaks “Italian” and justifies being called a dessert! A dessert which was made keeping in mind the wheel of the cycle as it was made for the Paris-Brest-Paris Cycle race in 1910 while the races were there since the 1800’s (1891). The fact that the dessert is a high calorific food, was indeed a tasteful way of providing the cyclists with energy for their long race.

The Base ! – Choux Pastry – Eclair

The base of the Paris Brest is one of the choux paste which is lined with sliced almonds in some recipes as well. Each chef uses his/her own creativity nowadays and can make it in many ways where they will either be using the same with a fruit filling or some other filling as well. The modern culinary world allows them to use the best of ingredients.

• Flour – 600 grams
• Butter – 500 grams
• Water – 1000 ml
• Eggs – 7no.
• Vanilla essence

Method:

1. Boil the water and add the butter. Melt the butter
2. Reduce the flame to low and add the flour to the mixture.
3. At this point, you have to be fast and stir the mix with a wooden spoon till it starts to leave the sides of the bowl.
4. Remove from heat and let it cool a little. Add in the eggs one at a time.
5. Fill a piping bag with a open star nozzle (preferably) and then pipe circles on a parchment paper (butter paper) or a silicon mat.
6. Bake the same at 180 degrees celsuis for 15 mins or till golden brown and then at 160 degrees celsius for 10 more mins

The Filling ! ! ! ! !

The most delicious, the most creative, the most easiest and yet the best part of the paris brest is its filling .

While, traditonally the filling is made of hazelnut paste ( which we are going for ), one can always substitute the same for fresh fruits or chocolate or coffee ( to name a few ) mixed with either whipped cream or with custard or with pastry cream. Although in this case it will be the following –

• Hazelnuts
• Sugar
• Whipped cream

The amount of or the ratio of sugar and hazelnut is one for you to decide.

Method :

1. Caramalize the sugar on a low flame and in a deep bottomed pan till it is golden brown and add the hazelnuts to the caramel sugar.
2. In case you want to have a better nuttier caramel, then it is wise that you roast the nuts a little bit before adding them to the caramel. This will make sure that they are not having moisture in them and also will prevent temperature shock to the hot caramel as well.
3. Turn on your food processor and add the hazelnut caramel once it has cooled down and set.
4. Make a caramel hazelnut paste and then whip the whipping cream to stiff peaks.
5. Fold in the hazelnut caramel and fill in a piping bag with the open star nozzle.

The Assembly!..

As said before, there can be numerous ways to present and show the Paris Brest, the most iconic one is the OG which is as follows

• Slice the choux from the middle in a horizontal way and then pipe the whipped cream mixed with some of the caramelized peices of the hazelnut caramel.
• Top it with the top layer of the choux and drizzle icing sugar on top or chocolate syrup or any topping which one may feel is creative enough to make the Paris Brest look amazing

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Hazelnut Opera

“Opera” pastry or cakes were introduced in France and have a controcersial beginning as “Gaston Lenôtre (1920–2009) also claimed the honour of inventing the dessert in 1960, though an advertisement in Le Gaulois in 1899 offers a “gâteau opéra“.” – As quoted on wikipedia.

Opera cakes originally were made of almond sponges which were then layered with 2 layers of butter cream and chocolate ganache respectively. The modern take of the same has replaced the almond as a nut and people have added creativity to the same by making it by using “Hazelnuts” or “Pistachios”.

Hazelnut Joconde

• 125 grams icing sugar, sifted
• 125 grams ground hazelnut (hazelnut meal)
• 40 grams plain flour, sifted
• 160 grams whole eggs, room temperature
• 30 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 100 grams egg whites
• 30 grams caster sugar

Method:

1. Mix together the hazelnut meal (ground hazelnut),flour.melted butter & icing sugar and keep aside.
2. Whisk the egg whites and add the caster sugar gradually till it forms stiff peaks.
3. Mix one third of the egg whites to the hazelnut mixture and then fold in the remaining two thirds.
4. Once fully incorporated, line a baking sheet with parchment or with silicon sheet and spread a thin layer on top. Bake at 180°C for 12 mins or till golden brown.
5. Sprinkle caster sugar and place a parchment sheet on top and flip over & leave to cool.

The ButterCream Filling

Perhaps one of the most customisable part of the whole opera, the buttercream filling can be made in many ways or many flavors to be correct. You can flavor the milk by adding coffee or any other such flavoring or can be kept simple and plain as well.

• Unsalted Butter – 200gms
• Caster Sugar – 400gms
• Milk – 2 to 3 spoons
• Vanilla essence / pods – 1-2 gms

Method

1. Bring the butter to room temp and cream it using a whisk or a spiral mixer.
2. Mix in the vanila essence and then add the sugar and cream till it becomes pale and fluffy
3. Fold in the milk and keep in a cool place.DO NOT REFRIGERATE unless absolutely needed.

Chocolate Ganache !

The third and the last component of the opera is the chocolate ganache which is the easiest of the all.

• Dark chocolate – 200 gms
• Heavy Cream – 200ml
• salt – a pinch (optional)

Method:

1. Heat up the cream and add to the chocolate and then mix in the salt as well.

! THE ASSEMBLY !

Now this is the most easiest or the most creative part, depends on how you want to take it!

The Opera gateux with its signature look is one of the most elegant and one of the most delicious desserts. The following is the way to layer a opera cake, although the same can be done in many ways as well depending on the feasibility and the creativity of the chef.

1. Start of by taking a layer of the sponge and soaking coffee syrup (water and coffee, or even a cooled down americano).
2. Spread a layer of the butter cream and then a layer of the melted cooled ganache.
3. In case going with the melted ganache, repeat the same layer two more times and then move onto step 5
4. In case going with set ganache, after the layer of the butter cream, keep another layer of the coffee soaked sponge and then a layer of the ganache and then repeat both
5. After the last layer of ganache has been put on the top. Refrigerate the same.
6. Run a hot pallate knife to smoothen and then with the ganache pipe the word “Opera” on top as well.

PRO TIP – Originally the “opera gateux”, has a mix of the coffee or Grand Marnier in the butter cream.

While these were some of the recipes which can be made with this ingredient, there are many more yet to be cooked and tried. So,
Let’s Take Ingredients ONE At A Time.