Chocolate Hazelnut Torte: Guest Blogger Regina, Queen of the Chennaults!

Please welcome guest blogger Regina Chennault of Queen of the Chennaults who brings us a little taste of her amazing baking skills!  ~Luisa

I got my inspiration from Martha Stewart's chocolate macadamia nut tart. I love hazelnut with chocolate, so I thought why not use hazelnut instead? Chocolate and hazelnut can never go wrong! The first time I made this tart it wasn't pretty, because I had a very hard time removing hazelnut skin, finally I just gave up. Also, I followed the filling recipe from Martha Stewart (except skipping bourbon and changing macadamia nut to hazelnut), and the tart turned out too greasy because of too much butter used.

This time, I searched online first before getting my hands on the skinning hazelnut-- and... ta da! The trick worked like a charm! If you are trying this recipe, be sure to check out my notes at the bottom on removing hazelnut skin. For the filling, I also cut down sugar and butter.

If you like Nutella, you'll love this tart. My whole family is loving it; we have to control ourselves not to eat too much at one serving. The crust is flaky, and the filling is not oily at all. In my opinion, the tart tastes best when it's chilled, but don't let me stop you! After all, who can resist the temptation of chocolate and hazelnut?

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart (makes one 9 inch tart)

Ingredients:

for tart shell:
1 cup cake flour
5 tbsp ground hazelnut (with skin)– toasted
3 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter (room temp.)
2 tbsp beaten egg-- see note below

for filling:
7 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp golden rum
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs-- beaten-- see note below
6 oz (about 1 cup) bittersweet chocolate chip
1/2 cup flour
2 cups toasted whole hazelnuts (skin off)-- see note below

Method:

To make tart shell:

1. Combine cake flour and ground hazelnut then set aside. Using a whisk, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Slowly add beaten egg, whisk to combine.
2. Sift in 1/3 of flour mixture. Using a spatula gently mix the flour on the top, then press down the flour to the bottom of the bowl to combine. Repeat with the remaining flour in 2 batches. When all mixture starts to form a dough, take it out and shape it to a ball with both hands (avoid kneading the dough!).
3. Put the round dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, roll it out large enough to fit tart pan. Remove plastic wrap and transfer the dough to tart pan and fold inwards any extra dough so all sides have same thickness. Prick the bottom of tart, then chill the tart for at least 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Blind bake tart for 15 minutes. Cool the tart in the tart pan slightly before pouring in filling.

To make Chocolate Hazelnut Tart:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Melt butter over a double boiler. Whisk in sugar, rum, salt and beaten eggs. Add in chocolate chips and whisk until chocolate almost melts. Remove from heat. Whisk in flour until smooth.
2. Pour chocolate mixture into tart shell, then layer hazelnut evenly on the top, pressing hazelnuts half way down. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn down heat to 350°F and bake for another 20 minutes, until the crust and hazelnuts are golden brown. Cover the top with foil if it browns too fast. Cool the tart on a rack. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Regina's Note:

• Beaten eggs: I beat 2 eggs in a bowl, scooped out 2 tbsp for tart shell and used the remaining for filling.
• How to skin hazelnut: boil hazelnuts and 1 tsp of baking soda in a deep pot, covered with enough water, for 2-3 minutes. Be sure to use a deep pot as the water will spill after adding baking soda. Drain hazelnuts. Rub the skin and it should come off easily.  Pat skin-off hazelnuts dry, then toast them in the 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes.

Coconut Crush.

The cooler weather (by that I mean 70-80 degree temps; usually it's smokin' in August) is foreshadowing fall, here in the midwest.  However, I'm revolting and churning out as many ice cream flavors as I can before the leaves start to tinge!  As much as I love fall and the change of seasonal food (soups and stews, hot chocolate and apple anything!), I'm a summer girl through and through.  So in my last ditch effort to celebrate the waning days of summer, I recently made a coconut concoction that really stole our hearts.  And oh, good god my friends...We are besotted!

We coined it 'Cherry Ice Cream Smile' after a line in a Duran Duran's song Rio, because well, I like that song and it makes me think of a tropical kind of summer. And I think I can vouch for Luisa and Lori, we all love Duran Duran (Lori remember you were going to marry Simon-or was it Roger? And I was going to marry John?). To live up to its name, it's loaded with cherries (of course), tropical coconut,  toasted almonds.  And it's every bit as luscious as Simon LeBon...

(Also making a note to use homeade dried mangoes or chopped up almond joys in lieu of cherries next time this is made).


Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz's 'Toasted Coconut Ice Cream'
(from the book The Perfect Scoop):

Coconut Cherry Ice Cream (a.k.a. Cherry Ice Cream Smile)

For custard:
1 cup dried shrededed coconut, preferably unsweetened
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup whole milk
2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
big pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, or 1 teaspoon rum

For cherries:
recipe here, drain cherries before adding to ice cream machine
or use canned cherries in syrup (not cherry pie filling!)




{the shining stars of the ice cream}


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit.  Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes, stirring so it toasts evenly.  Likewise, toast the almonds at the same temperature for about 10 minutes until lightly toasted.

In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, 1 cup of the heavy cream, sugar and salt and add the toasted coconut.  Use a paring knife, and scrape all the vanilla seeds into the warm milk, then add the pod as well. Cover and remove from the heat.  Seep at room temperature for about 1 hour.



{vanilla bean yumminess}


Rewarm the coconut-infused mixture.  Strain the mixture through a strainer into a saucepan.  Press the coconum down fimrly to exract as much flavor as possible.  Remove the vanilla bean pieces and discard the coconut.

Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set strainer on top.  In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm coconut-infused mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.  Place the egg mixture back into the saucepan.



{yolks from eggs via 'the ladies'}


Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir into the cream.  Mix in the vanilla or run and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chll the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Before the mixtures sets (is soft-set), add cherries and almonds.  Place in the freezer for a firmer ice cream.


***I made ice cream cone bowls to accompany the ice cream, but I found them to be a little tricky to make without a waffle cone maker because I had issues with the cone sticking to the pan, despite many attempts. (A waffle cone maker is now on my list of must-haves).  Here's the recipe here if you want to tackle making these; they are tasty!!


Posted by Dawn

Basil Blueberry Ice Cream.

At the beginning of summer I made a to-do list of all the things I wanted to accomplish, and one of those things was to create some frozen treats befitting of those warm summer days that scream for, well...ice cream of course!  With summer nearing an end soon, I thought I'd get after crossing that goal off the list.  Enlisting my daughter Elena in my ice cream-making endeavor, we decided to tackle making a basil-blueberry flavored ice cream inspired by one of of our favorite vendors that sells these addictively delicious blueberry basil cupcakes.

The ice cream has several steps, but as always, was well worth the effort.  It's aromatic, refreshing and intriguingly different...even my picky 10 year-old couldn't stop eating it.  We found the fantastic recipe in David Lebovitz's book, The Perfect Scoop.  (It's an amazing book that includes some classic flavors, but also an encyclopedia of brilliant, creative choices.  Seriously, it's the only ice cream book, you will ever need!). 

Enjoy!

Recipe from David Lebovitz :

Basil Ice Cream

For custard:
1 cup packed Italian basil leaves
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1 lemon, preferably unsprayed (or orange)

For blueberries:
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon (or orange) zest
2 teaspoons basil, finely chopped

Prepare your ice cream maker, according to the direction manual.

Using a blender or small food processer, grind the basil leaves with the sugar and one cup of cream.  Grind the basil as fine as you can get it.  Pour half of the basil mix into a bowl and add 1 cup of the remaining cream.  Place a strainer on top, and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, stir the other half of the basil mix with the milk and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm mixture in to the yolks, whisking constantly.  Place the mixture back into the pan and stir constantly over medium heat until thickened (The mixture should coat the back of your spoon or spatula).

Pour the custard into the strainer over the cream.  Zest the lemon (or orange) in the custard and then chill in an ice bath.  Place the custard in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled.  Meanwhile, wash blueberries and place in a bowl.  Top with a sugar, zested orange rind and chopped basil.  Let macerate in the refrigerator.

Freeze the custard according to your ice cream maker manual.  Right before the ice cream sets, place the macerated blueberries (drained) into the ice cream maker. 

Makes 1 quart.

Posted by Dawn.