Gianduja Roulade With Prune Armagnac Filling Recipes

PRUNES IN ARMAGNAC

Steps:

• Place 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags, add the prunes and honey, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 3 minutes to plump the prunes.
• Pour the prunes and all the liquid into a medium bowl and stir in the Armagnac, vanilla, orange juice, vanilla bean, and cinnamon sticks. With a vegetable peeler, cut 4 large strips of zest from 1 lemon and add to the mixture. Cut the lemon in half, cut 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices, and add to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 6 to 12 hours. (If you're not serving the prunes that day, refrigerate them in their liquid.)
• To serve, place the prunes in shallow dessert bowls and serve cold, at room temperature, or slightly warmed, spooning the macerating liquid over them. Add a scoop of ice cream, a drizzle of Armagnac, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkling of grated lemon zest. (You'll be surprised how much flavor this adds!) Serve immediately.

GIANDUJA

Steps:

• Line an 8-in. square dish with foil. Place hazelnuts and oil in a food processor; cover and process until mixture forms a paste. , In a large saucepan, melt bittersweet chocolate. Stir in 2-1/4 cups hazelnut mixture. Pour half of mixture into prepared dish. Refrigerate until firm., Melt candy bars; stir in remaining hazelnut mixture. Pour over bittersweet layer. Refrigerate until firm., Reheat remaining bittersweet mixture if necessary; pour over candy bar layer. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

PRUNE ARMAGNAC GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch springform pan and dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.
• In a skillet cook prunes, Armagnac, and gingerroot over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until almost all liquid is evaporated. Remove pan from heat.
• Into a bowl sift flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer cream shortening. Add sugar, beating, and beat mixture until light and fluffy. Add molasses in a stream, beating until combined well. Beat in coffee, flour mixture, eggs, and vanilla until batter is just combined. (It may separate at this point.) Reserve 1 tablespoon crystallized ginger and stir remainder into batter with prune mixture. Turn batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top with reserved ginger.
• Bake gingerbread 1 hour 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean, and cool on a rack 1 hour. (The gingerbread will fall slightly in center.)
• Serve gingerbread warm or at room temperature with crème fraîche and kumquats.

PRUNE ARMAGNAC CLAFOUTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 10-by-1 1/2-inch round baking dish with the butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
• In a small bowl, combine the prunes with 2 tablespoons of Armagnac and microwave on high for 1 minute. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and 1/3 cup granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and thick. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the cream, vanilla, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon Armagnac in a glass measuring cup. On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and then add the liquid ingredients, mixing well. Set aside for 10 minutes
• Distribute the prunes in the prepared pan and carefully pour on the batter. Sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve warm.

GIANDUJA ROULADE WITH PRUNE-ARMAGNAC FILLING

Steps:

• Line an 11-by-17-inch baking pan with parchment paper, and set aside. Place the egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale yellow, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, and set aside. Wash and dry mixer bowl.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg whites in mixer bowl, and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium high, and whip until stiff peaks form while gradually adding the sugar. Transfer egg-white mixture to a large bowl.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold egg-yolk mixture into egg-white mixture. Sift cocoa powder over top; fold in. Pour batter into pan; smooth top with an offset spatula.
• Bake until cake springs back when touched, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and immediately turn out onto a wire rack lined with parchment paper. Peel parchment paper from top of cake, and cool completely.
• Lay a clean piece of parchment paper on top of cake, and invert. Peel off and discard old parchment. Using an offset spatula, spread prune-Armagnac filling over cake. Spread Gianduja mousse evenly over filling.
• Starting at a shorter end of cake, roll cake into a roulade. Wrap in parchment; secure with tape. Freeze until set, about 2 hours.
• When ready to serve, remove parchment. Place roulade on wire rack set over a baking pan. Pour chocolate glaze over cake; tap pan on countertop, smoothing surface. Chill until set, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer to a serving platter; garnish with hazelnuts and sugared prunes. Serve remaining chocolate glaze on the side, if desired.

PRUNE-ARMAGNAC FILLING

Steps:

• Combine prunes and Armagnac in a small bowl. Cover with plastic; let soak overnight.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Toast until skins split, 8 to 10 minutes. Rub warm nuts in a clean kitchen towel, removing skins. Set aside.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer prunes to the bowl of a food processor. Add toasted hazelnuts and honey; pulse until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl, and cover. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.

PRUNES IN ARMAGNAC

Steps:

• In a small, non-reactive saucepan, combine the water and sugar. With a thin sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and bean to the pan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
• Place the prunes in a clean dry jar and pour the syrup over them. Allow to cool completely, then stir in the Armagnac. Refrigerate for at least 1 week before serving.
• Refrigerated, the prunes will keep indefinitely.

PRUNE ARMAGNAC SORBET

Steps:

• Combine prunes and Armagnac in an airtight container and let macerate at room temperature at least 24 hours.
• Bring sugar and 3/4 cup cold water to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes.
• Purée prune and Armagnac mixture with sugar syrup in a food processor until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Add orange juice and remaining 1 1/4 cups cold water and pulse to combine. Force through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Chill until cold, about 1 hour. Freeze in ice cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours.