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Showing posts with the label Hazelnuts

Easy to make hazelnut milk and instant vegan Nutella

Now that I have a nutribullet I am trying all sort of experiments, and this is my first nut milk. I used toasted hazelnut, but I guess that if you are into raw food you can use raw hazelnuts. I like toasted hazelnuts though, and a rinsed mine with water to remove as much as i could of the brown skin. Then I added a bit of water, about twice the amount of the nuts. A quick blend and here is the result! I passed the milk through a sieve, it tasted great but a bit grainy, so I passed it again using a fine cotton cloth (a clean handkerchief would work). The ring from the nutribullet jag is ideal to keep the cotton in place while the milk is filtering though! I got one glass, but where is the photo? Ops, Arantxa drunk it all at once! Max and I just had a taste. The hazelnut taste was great! Plus there was quite a bit of hazelnut paste left over.  Instant Vegan Nutella Place the hazelnut paste in a bowl or jug with a few block of dark ch...

Italian Hazelnut cream chocolates - 2 ingredients

Impress your guests with homemade chocolates! They are easy to make and You need only two ingredients to make these chocolates: some dark chocolate (your favourite, I like to use over 70% dark) and some Italian  hazelnut paste , I got mine in Auckland from  Italian Foodies . Step 1 Melt the chocolate at  bain Marie  and line the chocolate moulds (I used silicone moulds). For each mould you will probably need about 1 or 2 tsp of chocolate, let it run to cover the bottom and sides of the moulds and then place the mould in the fridge IMMEDIATELY so that the chocolate sets quickly (you don't want it to roll down the sides and just fill the bottom of the moulds). Use only half of the chocolate, leave the rest in the bowl and keep warm (so it won't solidify).  Step 2 After 15 or 20 remove the moulds from the fridge and fill with the hazelnut paste, then cover with the remaining melted chocolate. Refrigerate. Step 3 Before serving remov...

Raw, vegan, sugar free and gluten free chocolate truffles

Yes these are raw, vegan, sugar free and gluten free chocolate truffles, but what's more they are made using only 4 Fair Trade ingredients: Trade Aid Palestinian almonds, Trade Aid cinnamon, Trade Aid Madjoul dates, and Trade Aid baking cocoa,  plus one local ingredient, Hazelz hazelnut flour from Canterbury. There is no sugar, no dairy product, and no need for cooking.  I like using Fair Trade products because they are in line with the  Slow Food  principles of Good, Clean and Fair food. And with my philosophy. Furthermore the quality is really good! Take the Medjoul dates for example, they are so sweet and delicious, they can substitute sugar in many preparations. The baking cocoa is so good that you don't need to use it just for baking, it is perfect for puddings and hot chocolate too. The Palestinian almonds are different from my favourite Italian almonds, but they are quite unique, a bit spicy in fact. The cinnamon really aromatic, you need just a...

Crema di nocciola e vaniglia con gelatina di cotogne, fichi e alchechengi - Hazelnut and vanilla verrines with quince jelly, figs and cape gooseberry… or with alpine strawberries

Crema di nocciola e vaniglia con gelatina di cotogne, fichi e alchechengi A few days ago I was in Christchurch where I bought some hazelnut flour ( Hazelz ). I love hazelnuts! For 4 verrines I used: 2 eggs 3 tbps sugar 1 tbsp (level) cornflour 400 ml full cream milk 1 drop real vanilla essence 1 tbsp (heap) hazelnut flour 1 tbsp  Frangelico liquor for the topping 4-8 tbsp quince jelly (see below) figs and cape gooseberries to decorate In a pot mix the eggs with sugar and cornflour and add the milk little by little. Simmer stirring constantly until a custard form, then add the vanilla essence. Pour 200 ml of this custard into a measuring jug (I used the same one I used for the milk) and set aside, then put the hazelnut flour and Frangelico into the remaining custard and stir well. Fill four verrines or glasses with the hazelnut cream (this will be quite thick) and then pour the (thinner) vanilla custard on top. Let it cool down then add the quinc...

Vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread and Vegan chocolate brownie

This didn't start as a brownie, it started as a vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread. I had some hazelnuts to roast, and after doing that I decided to use a few for a nutella like spread, but vegan... and more chocolaty :-).  Vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread 5 tbps roasted hazelnuts (remove all skin too!) 3 tbps rice bran oil 100 gr dark chocolate (72% and dairy free) 50 ml hot water Blend the hazelnuts and oil with an immersion blender until you get a cream. In the meantime melt the chocolate with hot water at bain-marie (nothing bad will happen, just keep stirring!). Mix everything together. If the hazelnuts are not fresh or oily enough you may need a bit more oil. But my problem is that when I have a chocolate spread I don't spread it, I eat it all with a spoon! Too dangerous, I had to make something with it. What about a Vegan chocolate slice, a bit like a Vegan chocolate brownie... Vegan chocolate brownie 6 tbsp of ...

How to Make Hazelnut Turkish Delights, and pistachio, and lavender, and...

I have already explained how to make  Rose Turkish Delight (Lokum)  at home, it is pretty and pink, but I must confess that my favourite Lokum of all is hazelnut, so today I will show you this variations, and a few more. To start follow the recipe  here . Rose Turkish Delight While the cornflour and sugar syrup are cooking shell and toast a couple of handfuls of hazelnuts. It is better to use fresh hazelnuts and toast them just before making Lokum, for a full hazelnut flavour. Years ago I also had a hazelnut essence which was great, but I cannot find it here, I think that one of the best places to buy it would be in Piedmont, in Italy. Anyway, even without hazelnut essence you can get the best out of hazelnuts if you toast them and use them within a few days. When they are still hot from the oven put them in a clean tea towel and shake and rub them well so as to discard the peel. If some peel stays on don't worry, it is edible, just not as...

Vegan sweet bites

Mango Agar Agar Flowers Mango pudding is a staple at home, and the kids like to take it to school for lunch. For the lunch boxes I usually cut it into  squares , but just for fun this time I used some little flower cutters. Agar agar is easier to shape and cut than jelly, and it is healthier too. The basic recipe for mango agar agar pudding is  here . Hazelnut Gold Chocolates Toast some hazelnuts and remove the skins, then drop into some melted dairy free chocolate, the darker the better. Collect 3 hazelnuts at the time and let them set together (I also spoon just a little more chocolate on top to make it more like a proper chocolate). I had a very little edible gold paper left from an old job, so I sprinkled some on the chocolates. It didn't give it any particular flavour, I must say (maybe I had too little?), but it looked pretty and sophisticated :-). Unfortunately is was dark by then and the photo is not too clear, the flash also made the c...

hazelnut butter and chocolate sponge

Ingredients 100 g butter, cubed 150 sugar 1 tbsp hazelnut butter 3 eggs 250 g self rising flour 200 ml milk 60 g dark chocolate, cut into small piaces icing sugar to dust Beat the butter with the sugar, add the hazelnut butter and keep beating. Add the eggs, one by one, followed by half of the flour, then the milk, then the remaining flour and milk. Keep beating until light and foamy. Spoon (don't pour, just spoon delicately) inside a non stick 20 cm round baking tin, well greased with butter. Top with the chocolate (it will go down inside the cake during baking). Bake at 180° for about 25 minutes. When cold dust with icing sugar. This cake is soft and it smells divine! Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Chocolates with Quince and Chocolates with Hazelnuts.

chocolate! The first chocolates are dairy free, as long as you can find some good quality vegan chocolate. Previously I had made some quince paste (quinces, sugar and lemon juice...sorry, I didn't measure...) and cooled the paste in some chocolate moulds. Then I removed the quince paste (which looked quite pretty even just by itself) and placed it back into the moulds, and then I poured over some dark chocolate, melted at bain- marie. The quince paste must be removed first from the moulds if you like the melted chocolate to run through and fully coat the fruit filling. I was very pleased with the results, maybe they are a bit fiddly to make, but they tasted amazing! And now something much easier!!! I toasted some hazelnuts and peeled them. I made a 'shell' with melted dark chocolate (70%) and put a hazelnut inside. I waited for the chocolate shells to set and then I filled them with a little bit of nutella (or similar chocolate-hazelnut paste, you can even find some vegan ...