Posts tagged hazelnut

Hazelnut Ice Cream & Lemon Gelato

August 13, 2024 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

t’s been an understated while since I’ve posted a recipe on FITP! This is for many reasons which would be very boring to read about. That said, in the spirit of the original intention of this blog, here are two fantastic ice cream recipes ! Sigh, one is technically a gelato I believe.

Creamy, indulgent Hazelnut (think ferrero rocher) and light, zesty, creamy lemon gelato.

If you have an ice cream machine (and we aren’t talking anything fancy, just a cold churning bowl!) ice cream making at home is the easiest dessert. I’d highly recommend one if you love ice cream (see below). Alternatively, many recipes suggest you whisk as it’s freezing. I’ve only done this about once and it does leave an ice cream with more crystals but worth trying!

Ice cream machine – My ice cream maker was purchased from Ebay about 12 years ago and has been extremely reliable! You can buy these cheaply these days, you don’t need anything fancier that something like this.

Hazelnut Ice cream

500ml double cream
250ml whole milk
125g caster sugar
6 egg yolks
200g roasted hazelnuts (no skins! Roast yourself or buy pre-roasted)
80ml Nutella

Blitz 100g of the roasted hazelnuts in a processor until like fine breadcrumbs. They should start to become a bit oily.
Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan, until just coming to the simmer. Stir in the Nutella until dissolved.
Add the blitzed nuts and stir. Leave to infuse for 1 hour.
Pour the mixture through a sieve and discard the nut pulp.
Heat up the milk/cream mixture again until just below a simmer.
Whisk the sugar and egg yolks until fluffy in a large bowl.
Whilst whisking the eggs in the bowl continuously, pour the warm milk/cream mixture over the them and whisk throughly. You may need someone to pour while you whisk.
Once combined, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place on a medium/low heat.
Stir the mixture for about 8-10 minutes ensuring it doesn’t catch or get too hot. You are aiming to thicken the custard but you don’t want any egg scrambling!
Once thick enough (the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon), remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
Chop the remaining roasted nuts and set aside.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker once fully cold and churn until done. Just before you remove the ice cream, add the chopped nuts.
Transfer into a container and freeze fully.

Lemon Gelato

125ml lemon juice (4-5 lemons)
150g caster sugar
250ml whole milk
250ml double cream

Juice the lemons until you have 125ml juice. Whisk in the caster sugar until well combined.
Stir in the double cream and mix well.
Stir in the milk and mix again. (It’s vital you add the cream first and then the milk – I have made this mistake and your whole mixture will curdle if done the other way!).
Churn the mixture in an ice cream machine until ready.
Transfer into a container and freeze fully.

Apple Pie ‘Duffins’ and a 2nd Birthday

September 2, 2014 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

This weekend called for a belated blog birthday celebration and naturally a cake! Celebrating not only the last day of August which was blissfully sunny and spent wakeboarding on a glass-like lake in Wiltshire with some friends, but also the 2nd birthday of ‘forage in the pantry’ or FITP as its been recently named. Since my first ever blogged recipe and still one of my absolute favourites (see here) it has been two years of new experiments, flavours, combinations, styles, and ingredients which have flown by deliciously. A LOT has happened and changed in these past 2 years but the blog has been ticking over loyally and creatively in the background. Maintaining my sanity and satiety.

It pains me to say it but as Autumn approaches on the horizon in the form of darker nights and colder mornings, the apples are abundant and I felt it only natural to choose them as the star in my birthday cake. Taking inspiration from the controversial Starbucks ‘Duffin’ (muffin filled with jam) I have concocted a cinnamon cake filled wickedly with a slow roasted spiced apple puree and a tangy ginger lemon frosting. I refrained from rolling in sugar. Delicious served fresh on the day bitten into with no prior warning of the jammy filling.

Apple Puree – see here

Apple Crisps

1 apple
65g caster sugar
35ml water
cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 130° C and line a baking tray with parchment.
Slice the apple on the horizontal using a mandolin to very fine slithers.
Heat the water and sugar in a pan until the sugar dissolves and it bubbles into a lovely clear syrup.
Lay the slices on the tray and brush with the glaze. Dust with a little cinnamon and sugar if you like and bake in a low oven for about 30 minutes until dry and crisp. Leave to cool.

Cinnamon Muffins – I actually found these too big and dense. I think they’d work much better as cupcake with a lighted spongy texture so I have included a recipe below but feel free to make them GIANT and muffin like as titled.

115g unsalted butter
115g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
115g flour
1 tsp baking powder
35g chopped hazelnuts (optional)
2-3 tbsp milk
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180° C and line a cupcake tin with cases.
Cream the butter and sugar together very well until pale a fluffy.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla a bit at a time.
Now sieve in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder and fold in gently until just incorporated.
Fold in the nuts and loosen with a dash of milk if needed.
Fill your cupcake cases and bake for about 15 minutes until golden and set in the middle. Leave to cool.

Ginger Lemon Buttercream

125g softened unsalted butter
100g icing sugar
1-2 tbsp ginger syrup (from a jar of stem ginger. You can also add some chopped stem ginger if you like)
1 lemon, zest only

Combine all (in a food processor) until well mixed. Fill a piping bag and use to decorate the duffins.

Assembling….

Take your cooled cupcake/muffin and slice the top off (usually easier if they have risen with a dome!)
Cut out the middle to create a small whole keeping the removed cake.
Fill with about 2tsp of apple puree.
Top with a little bit of the filling to hide the puree, eat the excess.
Pipe the buttercream over the top in any pattern you like
Top with a wafer
The best bit….serve to a greedy worthy friend.

Coffee Ice Cream

April 2, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

A perfect Easter lunch dessert to keep everyone awake in front of the roaring fire………although this year the cold weather seems to be doing that for us brrrrrrr! If you’re a coffee fan then this ice cream is an instant (see what I did there) and satisfying winner!

(Serves 8)

1 can condensed milk
300ml single cream
2 heaped tbsp instant coffee

Warm the cream in a pan over a medium heat. When it looks like it is just beginning to simmer, remove from the heat and whisk in the coffee until it had dissolved.
Pour the condensed milk into the cream and stir to combine
Chill and then put into a container and freeze overnight…no churning needed! Although if you want an instant ice cream, churn for about 30 minutes and eat!

I served mine with a mini version of my hazelnut frangipane tartlet (see here) drizzled with dark chocolate, half a lightly poached vanilla pear and some teeth shattering hazelnut praline. For the vanilla pear, lightly poach half a cored and peeled pear in sugared water for about 20 minutes with a splash of vanilla extract or a halved and de-seeded vanilla pod, until soft.

Hazelnut Praline

60g caster sugar
40g hazelnuts

Toast the hazelnut in a hot oven for about 6 minutes. Then remove, wrap in a towel and rub the skins off
Lightly bash in a pestle and mortar or in a plastic bag with the back of a rolling pin to coarse crumbs. Sprinkle sparsely over a piece of greaseproof paper
Heat the caster sugar in a dry frying pan over a high heat and leave to melt, stirring every so often until the sugar turns liquid and golden brown. Watch it as it will easily burn.
As soon as it is a pale golden brown and the sugar has all dissolved, remove from the heat and quickly pour over the hazelnuts in a thin layer. It will set fast so work quickly (it will be EXTREMELY hot though so make sure you don’t touch it)
Leave to cool in a cool place or place the caramel on a hard marble surface to speed it along. When cool, break in shards and mind your teeth.

Hazelnut Frangipane Tart

August 2, 2012 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

This tart is, I must admit, courtesy of the infamous Skye Gyngell, whose seasonality, simplicity and quality of recipes I admire. This is the most moreish and sophisticated dessert that will leave you on cloud nine with no leftovers. Its delicious….what more can I say apart from I recommend you make two to save yourself the anguish of realizing how quickly the first one was eaten. I served mine with a sweet rhubarb puree and creamy vanilla ice cream.

Shortcrust Pastry

125g butter
250g plain flour
2 tbsp water

Filling

300g shelled hazelnuts
300g caster sugar
3 eggs
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
300g unsalted butter, cubed

Begin with the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour to form a breadcrumb like mixture
Add the water and mix with a knife to form a dough (you will probably need more water but add it little by little to prevent it becoming too wet)
Knead lightly on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Grease and line a fluted tart tin with a removable base (25cm diameter and 2.5cm deep tin)
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to about 3mm thick into a large round. Lift the pastry onto the rolling pin and drape into the tin.
Press the pastry into the well greased tin and up the sides and prick all over with a fork. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
Preheat the oven to 190°C and when the pastry case has rested, line with parchment, fill with baking beans and blind bake for about 15-20 minutes and a further 5 minutes without the beans until the case is precooked and golden.
To make the filling, roast the hazelnuts in the oven for about 5 minutes until warmed to release their flavour. To remove the skins, wrap in a tea towel and roll lightly and they should come away easily.
Tip the nuts into a food processor with the sugar, eggs, lemon zest and butter. Pulse to combine.
Fill the precooked case with the filling and bake for about 35-40minutes until golden and set, but still soft in the middle. Cover with foil if it begins to brown too much.
Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar with a rhubarb and vanilla puree and ice cream.

Rhubarb and Vanilla Compote

700g rhubarb
15tbsp dark brown soft sugar
½ vanilla pod, halved and seeds removed

Cut the rhubarb into 2cm chunks on the diagonal and place in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the sugar and the vanilla seeds and the pods.
Heat gently to begin with until the sugar begins to melt and the rhubarb releases its juices. Then cook covered for about 15minutes
Remove the lid and bubble gently for a further 15minutes until the rhubarb is broken down and sauce like. Discard the vanilla pod and serve warm with the tart.