Hazelnut Cream Tuiles Recipes

TUILES

Steps:

• In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add the confectioners' sugar and flour and mix until combined. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating after each addition just until well blended, about 1 minute in all. Refrigerate the batter for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Have a rolling pin at hand. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.
• Spoon 2 teaspoons of the batter onto the baking sheet and with a small, offset metal spatula, spread it evenly into a 3-inch circle. Repeat to form more tuiles, baking only 6 to 8 at a time. Refrigerate the remaining batter while you bake the tuiles.
• Bake the tuiles for 4 to 6 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and immediately shape the tuiles, lifting up each one with a metal spatula and draping it over the rolling pin so it curves, just until set. Repeat with the remaining batter. Store the tuiles in a cool dry place in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

HAZELNUT TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Chop the hazelnuts and place them on a sheet pan. Roast them in the oven for 10 minutes. (If the hazelnuts have skin on them, roast them for 25 minutes.) Set aside to cool.
• Chop the chocolates finely and place in a bowl.
• Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it boils. Immediately pour the hot cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the bowl with the chocolates. With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted. (If the chocolate doesn't melt completely, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir for a few minutes just until it melts.) Whisk in the hazelnut liqueur, coffee, and vanilla. Cover and chill for 45 minutes to 1 hour until pliable but firm enough to scoop.
• With 2 teaspoons or a 1 1/4-inch ice cream scoop, make dollops of the chocolate mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until firm enough to roll into rough spheres. Roll the chocolate in the chopped hazelnuts and chill again. Truffles are best when they're allowed to set overnight in the refrigerator.

HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE TUILES

Steps:

• Halve 4 parchment paper sheets lengthwise and set aside. Prepare a stencil using a piece of cardboard 6 inches long by 4 inches wide. Draw a circle 2 1/2 inches in diameter in the upper half of the cardboard then cut out the circle. The stencil is the cardboard with the circle removed.
• Melt and temper the chocolate (see pages 25-30), then stir in the ground hazelnuts thoroughly. Set the stencil over a strip of parchment paper and spread about a tablespoon of the mixture over the opening, using an offset spatula with a 4-inch blade. The tuiles should be no more than 1/8 inch thick. Lift the stencil off the parchment paper and scrape the excess chocolate mixture from the stencil back into the bowl. You should be able to place 4 tuiles on each strip of parchment paper.
• Let the tuiles set for 3 to 4 minutes, then carefully drape the parchment paper with the tuiles over a rolling pin that is set on a jelly roll pan. Chill the tuiles in the refrigerator until firm (10 to 15 minutes). Gently peel the parchment paper off of the curved tuiles. In a tightly covered container wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil, the tuiles will keep for 1 week at room temperature or 1 month in the refrigerator. The tuiles are best served at room temperature.
• White Chocolate Tuiles: Substitute 10 ounces white chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate.
• Coconut Chocolate Tuiles: Substitute 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut, lightly toasted, for the hazelnuts.
• Nibby Tuiles: Substitute 1 cup roughly chopped cacao nibs for the hazelnuts.

HAZELNUT FILLING

Steps:

• Put cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Whisk egg whites and sugar in the clean bowl of mixer set over a pan of simmering water until sugar has dissolved and mixture registers 160 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment; beat on high speed until slightly cooled and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 5 minutes.
• Fit mixer with paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter, several pieces at a time, mixing well after each addition (meringue will deflate slightly as butter is added). Add vanilla, hazelnut cream, and salt; mix until mixture comes together, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Use immediately.