{"id":1295,"date":"2011-01-13T16:14:57","date_gmt":"2011-01-14T00:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/?p=1295"},"modified":"2011-01-27T14:16:14","modified_gmt":"2011-01-27T22:16:14","slug":"chocolate-praline-tartine-miam-miam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/chocolate-praline-tartine-miam-miam","title":{"rendered":"chocolate praline tartine \u2026 miam-miam !"},"content":{"rendered":"


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chocolate praline tartine … <\/span><\/strong>miam- miam !<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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One day last summer I taught a class as a guest chef for a children\u2019s camp.\u00a0 There were two featured ingredients and I was asked to teach the \u201ccampers\u201d a few recipes with each ingredient.\u00a0 In class, we discussed what other flavors paired well with our subject ingredients. When the topic of nuts arose, one camper asked if I knew how to make a certain chocolate hazelnut spread.\u00a0 So that day we not only made our recipes with the featured ingredients, but we also made a chocolate-hazelnut spread which we added to some cr\u00eapes. The spread was a hit with all of the campers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ski season brings with it cold-nosed ski bunnies (of all sizes) with hungry tummies to match.\u00a0 While hot chocolate is the customary snacking treat, it does not fill you up after you have been zipping down the slopes (and it is often made with a terrible powder, barely hydrated with water, and the result is usually not worth the styrofoam cup it comes in). \u00a0 I thought about this spread and how a warm chocolate praline spread on crisp French bread would be the perfect alternative.\u00a0 Easy and delicious, on the slopes or off, this week\u2019s simple pleasure is a chocolate praline tartine.<\/span><\/p>\n

In France, <\/span>pralin\u00e9<\/span> <\/span><\/em>is everywhere<\/span>.\u00a0 Pralin\u00e9 <\/span><\/em>is a general term to describe sugar coated almonds (sometimes hazelnuts).\u00a0 Whenever there is a <\/span>f\u00eate<\/span> <\/span><\/em>(celebration) be it Bastille day or a seasonal food or flower festival, the elaborate candy carts roll in and with them come the <\/span>pralin\u00e9 <\/span><\/em>vendors (although <\/span>pralin\u00e9 <\/span><\/em>vendors are in Paris year round).<\/span> P\u00e2tisseries<\/span> (<\/span><\/em>pastry shops), including my favorite <\/span>Pierre Herm\u00e9<\/span>,<\/span><\/em> add <\/span>pralin\u00e9<\/span><\/em> to macarons as well as croissants, cakes, and brioche. In the States, \u201cpraline\u201d is generally understood to mean sugar coated pecans with the addition of\u00a0 butter and\/or cream.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there are as many poor renditions of pecan praline as there are instant hot chocolate,\u00a0 so do not let that dissuade you from trying something new.<\/span><\/p>\n

This spread is a combination of a hazelnut praline and chocolate with a little olive oil.\u00a0 No cream or butter is added.\u00a0 The spread takes 10-15 minutes to prepare and it stores for a <\/span>long<\/span><\/em> time in the refrigerator (assuming you can keep your family\u2019s hands off of it).\u00a0 It does solidify when cold,\u00a0 because it contains no preservatives, but it only takes 1 minute in the microwave to revive it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The spread is extremely versatile. In addition to tartines, you can pour the spread over a banana slice, apple wedges, pear slices, pineapple slices, orange slices (in the summer, strawberries). \u00a0 You can put it in a fondue bowl and dip fruit (fresh or dried), marshmallows, graham crackers or bread sticks in it.\u00a0 It is a delicious topping for ice cream or yogurt.\u00a0 Pour it in the middle of a hot souffl\u00e9 or use it as a cr\u00eape filling (or to top your Sunday pancakes or waffles). \u00a0 Honestly, you could simply eat it right off of your own fingers and you would be a \u201chappy camper.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A couple of production and ingredient notes.\u00a0 First, if you do not have hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts are excellent substitutes. Second, be very careful when cooking sugar (definitely <\/span>not<\/span><\/em> a time to cook with the baby in the Bjorn).\u00a0 When the sugar reaches an amber color, it will be between 310 and 320 degrees Fahrenheit.\u00a0 If you splash it on you, it will stick to your skin and burn you. Third, when cooking sugar, as the moisture is cooked out, the sugar becomes hotter, darker, and cooks quicker.\u00a0 Turn down the heat when the sugar is thickening because when it gets close to an amber color, it will go fast and if you cook it too long it will turn bitter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, when cooking (and cooling) sugar there is a potential for crystallization or \u201cseeding.\u201d\u00a0 You do not want this.\u00a0 This is when the sugar (sucrose) molecules seek out one another and bond, forming crystals. \u00a0 It results in a gritty, sandy texture and if you have ever had Christmas fudge that tasted gritty instead of smooth, then you know what crystallization tastes like.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can tell if your sugar had seeded because the bubbling sugar will take on a cloudy\/chalky appearance.\u00a0 Once seeding has begun, it will rapidly continue and you cannot recover from it. \u00a0 To prevent it, make sure that there are no sugar granules on the interior sides of the saucepan (because sugar pieces on the side of the pan have no water to separate the molecules from one another they have the freedom to attach to one another and spread \u201cthe seed\u201d, my slang).<\/span><\/p>\n

I wrote the attached recipe to minimize the chance of seeding.\u00a0 Placing a bowl on top of the saucepan creates condensation which will drip down the pan sides washing down any misbehaving sugar granules; however, do not leave the bowl on the pan too long or your sugar will not cook.\u00a0 If you still have some granules on the pan sides, use a wet pastry brush to wipe down the sides.\u00a0 Do not stir the sugar or otherwise dip the brush into the sugar; only use the brush to wipe down the interior sides of the pan.\u00a0 Also, do not shake the pan while the sugar is cooking because the agitation can cause seeding (the movement will cause the sugar molecules to collide).\u00a0 You can add some \u201cinverted\u201d sugar (i.e., a tablespoon of corn syrup or honey) to help prevent crystallization (inverted sugar is when the majority of the sucrose has been broken down into fructose and glucose and results in a syrup consistency which is only 1\/4 sucrose). \u00a0 However, if you follow the recipe as written and follow these tips, you will not need to add the inverted sugar.\u00a0 Fifteen minutes of effort and your campers and ski bunnies will all say: \u201cchocolate praline tartine …<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>miam-miam !<\/span><\/em>\u201d (yummy).<\/span><\/p>\n

Je vous souhaite un bon app\u00e9tit <\/span><\/em>!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

LM<\/span><\/p>\n

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chocolate praline spread<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span>stats:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

makes approximately 8 ounces<\/span><\/p>\n

what you need:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1 fresh ficelle or baguette, sliced 1\u201d thick
\n<\/span>1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed
\n<\/span>1\/2 cup granulated sugar
\n<\/span>water (as needed)<\/span><\/p>\n

1\u00a0 1\/2 teaspoon fleur de sel
\n<\/span>5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
\n<\/span>2 ounces olive oil\u00a0 (or nut oil) <\/span><\/p>\n

how to:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n