Nutella Semifreddo for World Nutella Day

My Google Reader was a thing of beauty this morning: dozens of new posts from my favorite food blogs, bursting with delicious Nutella recipes in honor of World Nutella Day. It's the most wonderful time of the year...



I've already featured two different types of homemade nutella, and four-ingredient Nutella cupcakes, but trust me when I tell you, I've saved the best for last.



Nutella Semifreddo is perhaps the best thing I've eaten so far this year. This may not seem like an earth-shattering statement, but in the last month I've created 16 new recipes for the candy site, made multiple baked goods for this here blog, and eaten my way through the patisseries of Boston and New York.

(Also, I have vowed to start eating well aaaaaaany day now...just as soon as I find a diet that endorses Nutella and full-fat cheese.)



Semifreddo, if you're not familiar with it, is an Italian word that means "half-frozen" and it can refer to any number of desserts, most of them in the sorbet/frozen mousse/ice cream tart category. This Nutella Semifreddo is perhaps most similar in taste and texture to a frozen mousse. Slightly warm and liquid Nutella is stirred into well-beaten eggs, then soft whipped cream is folded into this mixture to lighten the texture and round out the flavor. The final touch is stirring in shaved dark chocolate and chopped toasted pistachios, for pockets of bittersweet crunch sprinkled throughout.



This semifreddo can be made in a loafpan and served in slices (easy way) or spooned into individual glasses or serving dishes (bonus credit). I liked it best after it had sat out of the freezer for about five minutes. The edges start to soften, the way good ice cream gets melty along the edges, but the rest of the dessert holds its body when you put it in your mouth, silky-smooth and lighter than air, where it ever so gently melts with your body heat until all that's left is the taste of chocolate and hazelnuts coating your tongue.



If you like mousse, you'll love semifreddo.
If you like ice cream, you'll love semifreddo.
If you like Nutella, you'll love semifreddo.
If you don't like any of these, you've probably come to my blog by mistake because you meant to type Death of Cake but got Cake or Death instead. I'm sorry. It happens. Perhaps some semifreddo will make you feel better.





Chocolate Nutella Semifreddo
Adapted from More Than Burnt Toast

4 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 13 ounce (400 gram) jar Nutella
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon chocolate or hazelnut liqueur, or vanilla extract
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, shaved
2/3 cup roasted pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
Chocolate curls, for decoration

*****************
Line a mold of your choice with plastic wrap, taking care to leave about a 3 inch length hanging over the edge. I recommend a loaf pan about 8x4, or you can use individual serving cups and not worry about the plastic lining.

Gently whip the cream until it holds soft peaks. Be careful not to overwhip and cause the cream to break or become grainy.

Heat the Nutella in the microwave for about 20-25 seconds to soften it up. Set aside.

Place eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Place mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk until the eggs are warm, about 2 minutes.

Place the bowl in a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip the eggs on high speed until pale and tripled in volume, about 5 minutes.

Add the softened Nutella and the chocolate or hazelnut liqueur, or the vanilla extract, to the egg mixture and mix on low speed until blended.

Gently fold in the whipped cream, half of the shaved chocolate and 1/2 cup of the chopped nuts.
Scrape mixture into the mold and spread evenly, or spoon into the individual serving cups. Top with the remaining shaved chocolate. Cover the top of mold with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to serve, unmold the semifreddo and flip it upside-down. Cut it into slices and top them with a few curls of chocolate and the remaining chopped nuts. Like ice cream, this would be bonkers with a warm chocolate (or chocolate-hazelnut?) sauce and/or whipped cream. But it's pretty epic just the way it is.

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Four-Ingredient Nutella Cupcakes

Just when you thought Nutella couldn't get awesomer, someone comes along with the idea of making cupcakes out of it. But not just any cupcakes--four-ingredient cupcakes.



To be honest, I think these are actually even three-ingredient cupcakes, because one of the ingredients (chopped hazelnuts) is a garnish and could easily be omitted with no hard feelings. So the equation is really something like this:

Nutella + 1 egg + a few spoonfuls of flour + 11 minutes in the oven = CUPCAKE PERFECTION



I know, I had my doubts too. I was mostly worried that they would turn out to be rubbery, in the way that so many fishy pseudo-cupcakes often are. But they were actually moist and fudgy--denser than many cupcakes, but in a good way. These may be small, but they have a lot of flavor from the Nutella "frosting" and crushed hazelnuts on top.



I actually feel a little bad sharing this recipe, because I think it could be dangerous. Delicious cupcakes in 12 minutes with only 4 ingredients? THAT is a recipe that could do some serious damage. But, the upcoming World Nutella Day leaves me no choice. I apologize in advance.

Four-Ingredient Nutella Cupcakes
adapted from Savory Sweet Life
yields 9 mini cupcakes

1 cup Nutella spread, divided use
1 large egg
5 tablespoons all=purpose flour
2 tbsp cup chopped hazelnuts

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 9 cups of a mini muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2. Put 1/2 cup of the Nutella and egg in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended. Add the flour and whisk until blended.

3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full) and bake until a pick comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, 11 to 12 minutes. Don't overbake!

4. Set on a rack to cool completely. Once cool, warm the remaining 1/2 cup of Nutella in a small bowl in the microwave just until warm and fluid, about 15-25 seconds. Dip the tops of each cupcake in the Nutella, so that it's completely coated. (You will have extra Nutella left over. I trust you can find something to do with this.) Sprinkle the tops of the cupcakes with the chopped hazelnuts. These keep for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

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World Nutella Day: IT'S COMING

Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Sound like big holidays? WRONG.

These holidays are nothing--nothing--compared to what's coming up this Saturday.



Friends, are you prepared? Giant 26-ounce jars of Nutella purchased? Pantry stuffed with baguettes, pretzels, bananas, and apples, all ready to be slathered with Nutella? Starvation diet enacted to compensate for the calorie bomb that is a spoonful of Nutella?

Bring. It. On.



Nutella Day isn't until Saturday, so there's plenty of time to make preparations if this holiday has caught you off guard. There's lots of information and about a million recipes at the Nutella Day website, to whet your sweet tooth.



To kick things off I thought I'd start with a recipe for homemade Nutella. I've actually made two different versions. One can be found at the Oh Nuts blog--that recipe uses melted chocolate and condensed milk, and has a smoother, fudgier texture. That blog post has step-by-step photos for making Nutella, if you're new to this sort of thing.

The recipe I'm posting here uses cocoa powder instead of chocolate, and the end result has a bit more texture, but it's a little less sweet, which is my personal preference. Either way, you absolutely cannot go wrong with freshly ground roasted hazelnuts and chocolate!

So go forth, my friends, and create luscious Nutella creations. I'll be back tomorrow with another Nutella recipe for ya.


Homemade Nutella
from the Los Angeles Times

Servings: Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Note: Use good-quality cocoa powder, such as Scharffen Berger.

2 cups raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons hazelnut oil, more as needed

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts evenly over a cookie sheet and roast until they darken and become aromatic, about 10 minutes. Transfer the hazelnuts to a damp towel and rub to remove the skins.

2. In a food processor, rind the hazelnuts to a smooth butter, scraping the sides as needed so they process evenly, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the cocoa, sugar, vanilla, salt and oil to the food processor and continue to process until well blended, about 1 minute. The finished spread should have the consistency of creamy peanut butter; if it is too dry, process in a little extra hazelnut oil until the desired consistency is achieved. Remove to a container, cover and refrigerate until needed. Allow the spread to come to room temperature before using, as it thickens considerably when refrigerated. It will keep for at least a week.

Each tablespoon: 109 calories; 2 grams protein; 8 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 13 mg. sodium.

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TWD Brownie-Cherry Torte and DB's Macarons, oh my

It has finally happened...the perfect storm of blog posting. Two of the baking groups I belong to, Tuesdays with Dorie and The Daring Bakers, have challenges that have to be posted today. As George Costanza would say, "worlds are colliding!" So rather than make 2 separate posts, today's blog will be a super-duper-mega-big post about two delicious things I've made recently: a brownie-cherry torte and (pumpkin spice and nutella) macarons.

It's kind of a shame these guys have to share the limelight, because I thought they were both worthy of their own entry. First up, TWD's brownie-cherry torte.

As you can imagine, my husband, being married to a pastry chef and candy writer/recipe developer, eats a lot of sweets. A LOT. I wouldn't say his enthusiasm for sugar has waned, but it takes more to really impress him these days. And friends, he was blown away by this torte. We're talking head rolled back, tongue sticking out of the mouth, making guttural moaning sounds. I think it's true love.

For the most part, I loved it too. I made a half batch in a 6" pan and it was still super deep-dish and dense. The brownie part was rich and fudgy, and the mascarpone mousse was a surprisingly nice topping. I wasn't sure about the combo as I was making it, but the mousse was so light and creamy, it was the perfect foil to the dark, fudgy brownie. I also loved the cherry flavor, but I wasn't sold on the texture of chewy dried fruit in my brownie. Next time I'd either use fresh cherries or morello cherries instead of dried.But there will be a next time, because this? Was amazing!


Now on to the DB's macarons. I know this is blasphemy, but I don't really like macarons. Shhhh, don't say it so loudly! I've had some that I've thought are pretty good, but for the most part, I think they're just not my ideal cookie. They're often too sweet, and I don't usually love the texture. I guess I'll always be a warm chocolate chip cookie girl at heart. And also, I think they're annoying to make, but that may just be because we have to make jumbo 3" ones at work and let me tell you, the good lord did not intend for macarons to be made so large. They're constantly causing problems and I think I have developed a big macaron-shaped chip on my shoulder because of it.

Aaaaanyways, I sucked it up and made two variations of macarons this time around: pumpkin spice, with a spiced cookie and pumpkin-flavored buttercream, and nutella, with a cocoa-hazelnut cookie and homemade nutella in the middle.

Did y'all know it's possible to make homemade Nutella? And if you did, why didn't you send me any?? This stuff is awesome! It's just ground hazelnuts, with some cocoa, sugar, and a bit of hazelnut oil and vanilla. The texture is closer to natural peanut butter than Nutella, but the hazelnut taste is much more intense, plus it doesn't have any nasty trans fats. Yes please! Subbing hazelnuts for the almonds in the cookie also worked like a dream and gave them a nice subtle hazelnut flavor.

The nutella cookies might have been my favorite because they were less sweet, but the pumpkin spice were a surprising dark horse contender! I added big pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves to the cookie batter, and then used some pumpkin flavoring oil (used to make candies, like Lor-Ann brand) to make a pumpkin buttercream. It was like a delicious mouthful of autumn. I would also consider using pumpkin butter as a filling, to give it a pumpkin flavor and maybe cut down on the sweetness.

Making the decorations on top is the simplest thing in the world. Just mix a little liquid orange food coloring with water, and use a (clean) paintbrush or pastry brush to lightly stroke it across the top. You might need to experiment with several brushes to get the effect you want. Allow it to dry for about 10 minutes, and you're all set.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe. It can be found on just about any blog by googling, so I'll skip that for now, but I have put the homemade nutella recipe after the cut...



Homemade Nutella
from the Los Angeles Times


Servings: Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Note: Use good-quality cocoa powder, such as Scharffen Berger.

2 cups raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons hazelnut oil, more as needed

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts evenly over a cookie sheet and roast until they darken and become aromatic, about 10 minutes. Transfer the hazelnuts to a damp towel and rub to remove the skins.

2. In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts to a smooth butter, scraping the sides as needed so they process evenly, about 5 minutes.

It was awesome to watch the hazelnuts go from this...

...to this!

3. Add the cocoa, sugar, vanilla, salt and oil to the food processor and continue to process until well blended, about 1 minute. The finished spread should have the consistency of creamy peanut butter; if it is too dry, process in a little extra hazelnut oil until the desired consistency is achieved. Remove to a container, cover and refrigerate until needed. Allow the spread to come to room temperature before using, as it thickens considerably when refrigerated. It will keep for at least a week.

Each tablespoon: 109 calories; 2 grams protein; 8 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 13 mg. sodium.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Is there anything better than Nutella? I mean, think about it. Chocolate and hazelnuts get together and produce a sweet, smooth, creamy baby, available in a handy jar. In a jar, people. Basically begging to be spread on everything from croissants to pretzels to your fingers. Sick of healthy apples for a snack? A dab of Nutella will fix that right up. Want to get your kids to eat their broccoli? Add Nutella! It goes with everything.

So yes, I have a serious weakness where Nutella is concerned. Even if it is, like 98% trans fats and 1.5% hazelnut goo and .5% sketchy cocoa solids, I still love it and defend it and buy it in wee overpriced jars from the supermarket. That's why, when I saw this recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies on Maria's blog awhile back, I knew I had to make them with the hazelnuts I got from Oh! Nuts.

These cookies were similar to a chcolate-chip cookie dough, with the addition of Nutella, and chopped hazelnuts in lieu of the chocolate chips. I was expecting fireworks when I tasted the dough, but I actually found it a little bland. The hazelnut flavor was barely there, and the chocolate didn't come through at all. (Guess it's the revenge of all those nasty trans fats, and the relatively small amount of Nutella in the dough.) Fortunately I had some hazelnut extract that I was able to add, which really boosted the hazelnut flavor.

The cookies baked up beautifully--crispy on the edges, while still very soft in the centers. The hazelnuts added a nice crunch and a toasty flavor. If I were to do it again, I'd add some semi-sweet chocolate chunks, since these cookies looked chocolatey, but didn't have much chocolate taste. Overall, I thought they were a pretty good cookie, but I don't know if I would have liked them much if I hadn't added the extra hazelnut flavor. I guess I'm still searching for the perfect chocolate-hazelnut cookie...or maybe I should go back to spreading Nutella on every cookie that comes my way...



Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Adapted from Giada's Kitchen (recipe courtesy of Two Peas and Their Pod)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Drop of hazelnut extract (I added this, use if you have it!)
3/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another medium bowl combine the butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, sugar, and brown sugar. Using an electric mixer, cream the ingredients together, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and drop of hazelnut extract if you are using it and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Add the hazelnuts and stir until just combined.

Using a tablespoon measure, spoon out the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet, spacing the mounds about 4 inches apart. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool.
**To toast hazelnuts-spread nuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat. Bake for about ten minutes at 350 degrees. Stir them a couple of times while they are baking.**

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Tuesdays with Mommie: Linzer Sables

This week's TWD recipe is very special. For the first. time. ever. in Cake or Death history, I had my mom baking with me! Or more accurately, I baked with her, since we were in her kitchen using her ingredients. (Thanks, Mom! Sorry for spilling that ganache on the floor. And for dirtying so many dishes and countertops. And for dropping that rubber band in the oven and melting it to the oven floor. Love you!)

Familial Camaraderie: it's what's for dessert

We had a great time making the Linzer Sables together. We made the dough a day in advance, and aside from some massive frustration involving her poorly designed, eternally frustrating food processor, it all went smoothly. (I have added her food processor to my list of Inanimate Arch Nemeses. It's a big list.) We used toasted almonds for the nut meal, and the dough had a nice nutty flavor. I loved the addition of the spices, although it kept tricking my nose into thinking we were making gingerbread. My taste buds, however, could not be fooled.

The next day, we started cutting our shapes. I have a big collection of miniature "fondant" cutters from Wilton, that I rarely use for fondant but often use for cookies and chocolate decorations. The cookies ranged in size from under 2" to slightly over, and we also made some minis, so we ended up with a healthy number of cookies in the end. I think my dough was rolled a little thick--I thought the resulting cookies could have been thinner, and baked a little less, so the filling-to-cookie ratio was a little higher.
We used several different fillings: strawberry jam, raspberry jam, chocolate-caramel ganache, and Nutella. I was expecting the chocolate-based cookies to be the most popular, but the jam versions were actually the winners around my house! Who'da thunk it? There was something about the pairing of fruity filling and nutty cookie that worked beautifully.
So yes, the cookies were tasty, and I would definitely make them again. They looked beautiful, especially those filled with the jewel-toned strawberry jam. With seasonal cookie shapes, they'd be perfect for a Christmas or Valentine's Day gift plate.

You may be saying to yourself, those cookies sound awesome. What is their secret? Is it special equipment? Premium ingredients? Innate pastry skills that are impossible to duplicate? Well, it might be those things, but truly, the secret to our baking success is love.

...No, just kidding. The secret is saliva! Eat up, fools!

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Tuesdays with Dorie: Rugelach

So a few weeks ago I whined about how I hate making biscotti because I used to have to make it by the truckload. Someone, somewhere, heard my pathetic grumbling and decided to teach me a lesson by having rugelach be this week's TWD recipe. You see, back in the day when I had to make billions of biscotti, I also had to make tons of rugelach, which is an awful lot of rolling and shaping and cutting and egg washing and baking, believe you me. *patiently waits for sympathy*

So this week's recipe was another baked good I thought I had sworn off forever, and once again I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed making and eating it again. I think there's a lesson here somewhere about not holding grudges and time healing all wounds, but I'm too busy munching on rugelach to really process it. La la la...


The dough was incredibly simple: just some flour, cream cheese, and butter, pulsed in the food processor until it barely held together. I made it the evening before I planned to bake, so it had a good long overnight chill in the refrigerator.

Because I am nothing if not indecisive, I made two varieties. The first one had Nutella (thanks to Clara for that idea!), hazelnuts, and a bit of chopped gianduja chocolate, which is chocolate that is flavored with hazelnut paste.


The second variety had cherry preserves (my favorite, from Trader Joe's), chopped almonds, and finely chopped bittersweet chocolate. I omitted the sprinkling of sugar from both fillings, figuring that they would be sweet enough with the Nutella, chocolate, and jam. The shaping wasn't too tricky, although I wished I'd waited to sprinkle the nuts and chocolate until after cutting, since the pizza wheel I used kept getting caught on the chunks. Cutting each circle into 16 wedges produced the most petite, adorable rugelachies ever! A quick chill in the fridge, an egg wash and a sprinkling of sugar, and my babies were ready for baking.


So how were they? On a scale of Gross to Fantastic, I would rate them Pretty Good! Truth be told, they weren't quite sweet enough for me. I am used to a rugelach dough that contains a bit of sugar, so next time I'll either add sugar to the dough, do a sprinkling before I roll them, or use a much sweeter filling, because they didn't get much sweetness from the bittersweet chocolate or tart cherry preserves. So that was a bit of a bummer, but other folks with less of a sweet tooth liked them quite a bit. I thought the pastry was wonderful--light, tangy, and very flaky--and the miniature size was perfect. Yes, they definitely have potential. What did you folks think?

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