Melissa Clarks Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream Recipes

GINEVRA IVERSON'S CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees and spread hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, or until fragrant. Let cool for about 10 minutes (or until cool enough to handle but still warm) and rub the nuts in a dish towel to remove most of the skins (some will cling and that's O.K.).
• In a medium bowl, melt together gianduja paste and butter, either over a pot with 1 inch of simmering water or in a microwave. Keep mixture warm.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the half-and-half, sugar, salt and vanilla bean to a simmer until the sugar melts, taking care not to boil. Stir occasionally.
• Place egg yolks in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in a 1/4 cup of the hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly and carefully so as not to scramble the yolks. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the remaining half-and-half, whisking constantly. Heat the custard through, but do not simmer. If you see curdled clumps in your custard, pass through a fine strainer before continuing.
• While whisking constantly, slowly pour the warm custard into the warm melted chocolate (you want the two mixtures to be the same temperature). Once the chocolate custard is thoroughly combined and smooth, whisk in heavy cream. Cover custard and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
• Pour chocolate hazelnut custard into an ice cream machine and chill according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Fold whole hazelnuts into ice cream, excluding any powder from the nuts (it just feels gritty on the tongue). Serve at once or freeze.
• To serve, drizzle with melted bittersweet chocolate.

HAZELNUT-MOCHA DACQUOISE

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, 12 to 15 minutes; let cool completely. Combine 1 cup each hazelnuts and sugar and the potato starch in a blender or food processor and pulse until very finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a bowl as a guide, draw three 7-inch circles on the parchment with a pencil (2 circles on 1 piece and 1 circle on the other); flip the parchment so the markings face down.
• Put the egg whites, 1/2 cup sugar and the salt in a large heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm, 2 to 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff and shiny but not dry, about 2 minutes.
• Fold the milk and one-quarter of the egg white mixture into the nut mixture with a rubber spatula until smooth, then fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined. Divide the batter among the 3 circles on the parchment and spread evenly with an offset spatula to fill the circles. Bake 1 hour, 30 minutes, then switch the position of the pans and continue baking until firm, dry and golden, 1 to 2 more hours. (The layers are done when they easily peel off the parchment.) Let cool slightly on the baking sheets; peel off the parchment and transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the ganache: Put 1 cup cream in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave until very hot, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the chocolate and espresso powder until smooth. Let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until cold, thick and spreadable, at least 30 minutes. Make the whipped cream: Combine the remaining 4 cups cream and 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until it barely holds soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. Finish beating the cream by hand with a whisk until soft peaks form; do not overbeat.
• Put 2 meringue layers on a baking sheet; spread half of the ganache on each, to the edge. Refrigerate until set, 15 minutes. (If the ganache is too firm to spread, microwave in 20-second intervals to soften.) Place one of the ganache-topped meringues on a platter. Spread with 1 cup whipped cream. Stack the other ganache-topped meringue on top; spread with another layer of whipped cream. Top with the last meringue, then cover the top and side of the cake with the remaining whipped cream. Chop the remaining 1/3 cup hazelnuts and sprinkle on top of the cake along with the shaved chocolate. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight before serving.

TOASTED HAZELNUT AND CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a small heavy saucepan, whisk eggs, sugar and salt until blended; stir in milk. Cook over medium-low heat until a thermometer reads at least 160°, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat., Strain into a bowl; whisk in cream and Nutella until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Refrigerate overnight., Pour custard into cylinder of ice cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's directions, adding hazelnuts during the last 2 minutes of processing. Transfer ice cream to freezer containers, allowing headspace for expansion; freeze until firm, 2-4 hours.

MELISSA CLARK'S CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a small pot, simmer heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream.
• Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Whisk chocolate hazelnut spread and vanilla extract into base. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.

MELISSA KELLY'S CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and lightly butter it.
• Combine hazelnuts, chocolate, lemon zest and orange zest in a food processor. Pulse until finely ground.
• Combine egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer. Whisk on high speed for about 3 minutes, until light and creamy. Turn speed to low, and mix in the ground hazelnut-chocolate mixture.
• Place egg whites in a clean bowl, and whip at medium speed until frothy. Increase to high speed, and whip until softly peaked. Continue to whip, gradually adding remaining sugar, until stiff.
• Fold a third of the beaten egg whites into the batter, and when they are almost completely incorporated, fold in the rest.
• Spread in prepared pan, and bake for about 35 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool briefly on a rack. The cake will drop somewhat as it cools. Remove the cake from the pan, and invert it. Peel off the paper. Serve while still warm, with ice cream.

EASY VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER-MAPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer maple syrup, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces by a third, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let syrup cool completely, stirring it occasionally as it cools. You should have about 1/2 cup.
• Place syrup, creamer, peanut butter, vanilla and salt in a blender or food processor (or use an immersion blender), and blend until smooth, 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Pour ice cream into a loaf pan.
• Cover and place in the freezer to harden overnight or for at least 4 to 6 hours. Remove pan from the freezer at least 10 minutes before scooping and serving, topped with chocolate shavings or sprinkles, if you like.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Steps:

• Bring an inch of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Combine the cream and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. When the water boils, turn the heat to low so the water is barely simmering or just steaming. Set the bowl over the saucepan and melt the chocolate, gently stirring with a whisk now and then.
• While the chocolate melts, whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer on medium speed. When the whites are foamy, add the sugar in a slow stream while whisking. Continue whisking until stiff peaks form. The whites should look glossy but not dry, and, when you lift the whisk from the mixture, a peak should form in the bowl and hold.
• Once the chocolate has melted completely, turn off the heat but leave the bowl over the saucepan. Holding the bowl with a kitchen towel, add the egg yolks one at a time, whisking after each addition. If the mixture looks broken, remove the bowl from the saucepan, cool for a minute, then add 1 tablespoon cream and whisk just until shiny and smooth. Whisk in the vanilla. (Don't worry if it still doesn't look completely smooth. It will come together in the next step.)
• Add a quarter of the beaten whites to the chocolate mixture and stir gently with a flexible rubber spatula until incorporated but still a little streaky. This will make it easier to fold in the remaining whites to create an airy mousse by gradually lowering the temperature of the chocolate (tempering) and making the mixture loose.
• Add the rest of the whites and fold them in by running the spatula from 12 o'clock on the bowl to 6 o'clock, then scooping up the chocolate on the bottom and gently folding it over the whites as you move toward 9 o'clock. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Continue folding just until the last streak of white disappears. It's OK if there are a few lumps of whites left. It's better to not deflate the batter by folding too much.
• Scoop into a pretty bowl or into individual cups or bowls for serving if you'd like. Otherwise, keep it in the mixing bowl. Refrigerate the mousse uncovered until cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 more hours and preferably 24. The covered mousse can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
• If you'd like to serve the mousse with whipped cream, whisk heavy cream until soft peaks form. A cup or two of heavy cream is plenty for this amount of mousse. Serve the mousse cold, straight from the refrigerator, with the whipped cream.