Ingredients:
1 cup hazelnut spread
25 whole roasted hazelnuts
2 sugar cones, crushed
2 tsp condensed milk
5 oz tempered chocolate
coarsely chopped almonds
Method:
- Drop teaspoons of hazelnut spread onto plastic lined pans and refrigerate until set. Once set, form into rounds, pushing a whole hazelnut in the center of each ball. Refrigerate once again until set.
- Combine crushed sugar cones with condensed milk until slightly sticky and well combined. Roll each truffle center in sugar cone crumbs. Refrigerate until set.
- Once truffles are firm to the touch, dip into tempered chocolate, milk or dark, as desired. Roll thereafter in crushed almonds, if desired.
- Allow to set before serving.
Notes: When I see recipes for homemade Ferrero Rochers, I am always disappointed to see that the recipes call for combining wafer crumbs into the hazelnut filling. Seeing that the original deal has the wafer acting as a container for the filling, showing beautiful layers when you bite into it, this “solution” is of no use to me! So, I decided to do them in this manner, but I am still not satisfied, as the the sugar cone crumbs, which I thought would work to create a nice crunchy layer, did not stay crispy like I hoped, and that is just not cool. Next time, I would forego the whole idea of making them round. I would use whole wafers, lay the hazelnut spread over the wafers, place a hazelnut in the center of each square, top with another wafer, then enrobe with chocolate. Thereafter, I would sprinkle the tops with crushed almonds and cut into squares.
Hazelnut Spread (adapted from David Lebovitz)
7 oz hazelnuts
14 oz whole milk
2 oz milk powder
3 tablespoons mild-flavored honey
pinch of salt
6 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
5 oz milk chocolate, chopped (at least 30% cacao solids)
Method:
- Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast in a 350ºF (180ºC) oven, stirring a few times, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the hazelnuts are browned.
- While they are roasting, combine the milk, milk powder, honey and salt in a small saucepan and heat until it starts to boil. Add the chopped chocolate, and remove from heat once chocolate has melted. (Keep whisking until chocolate melts, lest it begins to scorch at the bottom or some such terrible thing.)
- Once hazelnuts are roasted, remove from hot tray and place onto a clean dish-towel to cool. Once cooled, rub the hazelnuts between the folds of the towel or between your hands, thus removing the skin.
- Place skinned hazelnuts into a blender and grind as fine as possible. Once they are fairly nubby, add enough hot chocolate milk to the blender to cover the ground nuts, and continue to blend until smooth. Add the remainder of the milk thereafter, and blend to combine.
- Store hazelnut paste in a jar with a 2 cup capacity. Once cool, keep refrigerated until ready to use.
