Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Petits Fours

With Christmas coming up, MasterChef Magazine has released a double issue. One of the things that I always get excited about in Christmas issues is their simple gift ideas.

One of Matt’s Tops 6 this month is Peter Gilmore’s Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Petits Fours. These small morsels of delicious chocolate and hazelnut are the perfect gift for friends and family with a sweet tooth.

Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Petits Fours

Ganache

300 grams milk chocolate finely chopped (I used Haighs)

125ml pouring cream

30 grams cold unsalted butter chopped

1. To make the ganache, place the milk chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Place the cream in a saucepan and bring to almost boiling point. Pour the cream into the chocolate and mix until the chocolate has melted. Whisk the butter into the ganache until it is melted and the ganache is glossy. Cool in the fridge for at least a few hours.

Caramelised Hazelnuts

75 grams caster sugar
1 tablespoon pouring cream
60 grams roasted peeled hazelnuts
2 tablespoons water

You will need a sugar thermometer for the caramel.

1. Line a tray with baking paper. Place sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan. Swirl until all the sugar is dissolved. Simmer until the caramel reaches 160c on a sugar thermometer. Stir in cream until well combined. Cook it for 30 seconds, make sure you watch this closely as it can split.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the hazelnuts. Make sure to stir until all the hazelnuts are coated with the caramel. Transfer the mixture onto the tray and allow to cool.

3. Working quickly using a fork and damp hands, pull apart the hazelnuts one at a time. Roll each nut between your fingers to form a ball of smooth caramel. Set aside until use.

White Chocolate Crumbs

100 grams white chocolate (I used Haighs)
100 grams organic palm sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 170c. Line an oven tray with baking paper and add the chopped chocolate to the tray. Bake for 12 minutes or until the chocolate is golden. Allow to cool.

2. Process the roasted white chocolate in the food processor. I wanted my white chocolate crumbs to be chunky so I used a toy hammer. I put the cooled chocolate into a zip lock bag and went to town. It’s a great way to take your anger out J. Put the white chocolate crumbs into a bowl and rub the palm sugar in until its all combined. Set aside to cool ion the fridge.

Assembling Petits Fours

1. Line a large tray with baking paper. Scoop teaspoons of ganache onto the tray. You should be able to get around 60. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours .

2. To assemble, push a caramel hazelnut into each ganache centre and form a ball. When you do all 60, put them back into the fridge to cool for a minute or 2.

3. Put the white chocolate crumbs into a deep bowl. Take the ganache out of the fridge and immediately coat each one into the chocolate crumbs. Cool the Petits Fours in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

These Petits Fours are a little time consuming but extremely worth it at the end. If you want to mix things up, try adding crushed chocolate covered coffee beans with the chocolate crumbs instead of the palm sugar. It gives it texture and a completely different flavour.