Crackle, crunch and crunch with these chocolate hazelnuts! I’ve bought myself a new cooking toy and I’d like to make it clear that I’m in no way sponsored to talk about it. I bought it for myself and I’m sharing my experience with you. It’s not really a recipe per se, but rather an idea of what can be done with this new utensil that has just appeared on the market. This is a drum that fits onto kitchenaid food processors. With a small wedge to set the right angle, you end up with a praline-making machine! And it’s really fun to make and a delight to nibble on. I used a kilo of homemade white chocolate and coated it with caramelized hazelnuts. The whole thing is a little crazy! I’ll tell you all about it in the article!<\/p>\n\n

For the record, I’m not sponsored by the brand. I stumbled across it on instagram and couldn’t wait to buy it for myself. I make my own chocolate from bean to bar (although the white chocolate I had left doesn’t contain any beans), and I’ve been dreaming about this machine. When the Aieve brand came out with a model that fits on the Kitchenaid food processor, I couldn’t resist! For those looking for the drum, it’s here:https:\/\/www.iaieve.com\/products\/aieve-snack-coater-kitchenaid-coating-pan-attachment<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Here I’m making “pralines” coated with a crunchy layer of caramelized sugar, but almonds or hazelnuts can be made without this layer. In this case, you’ll need to roast them for 15-18 minutes in the oven at 170\u00b0C, then coat them directly with the tempered chocolate in the drum! <\/p>\n\n

For 1.5 kg of chocolate-crisp hazelnuts (or almonds) :<\/p>\n\n

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• 400g of sugar <\/li>\n\n\n\n
• 1 good pinch of salt<\/li>\n\n\n\n
• 400g raw, skinless hazelnuts or almonds<\/li>\n\n\n\n
• 1kg chocolate of your choice<\/li>\n\n\n\n
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

  Pour the sugar and salt with 70g of water into a large frying pan. <\/p>\n

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  Heat over high heat to boiling. <\/p>\n

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  Pour in the hazelnuts (unroasted). I’ve used unskinned raw hazelnuts here, but you can also use almonds. <\/p>\n

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  Stirring constantly and lowering the heat slightly, cook the hazelnuts, which will gradually roast naturally. <\/p>\n

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  At some point, the syrup will crystallize, and this is perfectly normal. <\/p>\n

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  Separate the hazelnuts and continue to make the outer layer turn to caramel. <\/p>\n

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  You don’t want all the sugar to melt into caramel, otherwise it will make a caramel sheet and the hazelnuts won’t be able to separate. It’s time to stop. There should just be a thin layer of caramel on top of the hazelnuts. Pour onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment and leave to cool. <\/p>\n

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  Meanwhile, temper the chocolate. First, melt the chocolate evenly at 42\u00b0C. The simplest method for tempering is Mycryo cocoa butter, which I add when the chocolate is at 34.7\u00b0C. <\/p>\n\n

  I’ve written a book on chocolate from bean to bar, published by Solar, in which I explain all the more traditional tempering methods. But mycryo cocoa butter is a cocoa butter powder already in the right form, and it will temper the rest of the chocolate through seeding. I have some white chocolate here that I made with my concheuses. but it’s perfectly possible to use good-quality store-bought chocolate, and choose the color (dark, milk, white). <\/p>\n

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  This is my new toy. This is a drum that fits onto the kitchenaid food processor. It will rotate at an angle, allowing the dried fruit to be coated with chocolate. Pour in the caramelized hazelnuts.<\/p>\n

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  Put the food processor on first speed, then pour in the tempered chocolate, until it reaches 29\u00b0C. I started with 3-4 ladles.<\/p>\n

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  The machine will coat and start-up is a bit tedious. Stay in front and occasionally scrape the inside of the drum. <\/p>\n

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  At times, I took the hazelnuts out of the drum to leave them alone so that the chocolate could crystallize a little more. <\/p>\n

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  Then add the chocolate gradually, retempering if necessary. <\/p>\n

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  At the end, when all the chocolate had been poured in and crystallized, I added some cocoa powder (4-5 tablespoons). <\/p>\n

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  When finished, pour into a dish and leave to crystallize perfectly at room temperature. <\/p>\n

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  Then store them in an airtight tin. Hazelnuts will keep for several weeks. <\/p>\n\n

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  Crunchy chocolate hazelnuts (white, milk or dark)<\/h2>\n

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