Recipe - Chocolate-Hazelnut Truffles Part 1

HAZELNUT PRALINE
1 cup Whole hazelnuts
1 cup Sugar

TRUFFLES
8 ounce Semisweet chocolate;
finely chopped
One half cup Unsalted butter; chilled and
cut into 8 pieces
3 tablespoon Brewed coffee
1 tablespoon Hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico
2/3 cup Hazelnut Praline
Unsweetened cocoa powder

COATING
12 ounce Semisweet chocolate;
finely chopped
6 tablespoon Hazelnut praline

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, ambercolored 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 microwavesafe 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.

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TO COMPLETE, FOLLOW "TRUFFLE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS, PART 2"

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Source: Corby Kummer's "Joy of Coffee"
Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #170

Date: Sat, 27 Jul 1996 15:29:53 +0000

From: Linda Place placel@worldnet.att.net