Valrhona Chocolate Crepe Layer Cake with Hazelnut Cream—Happy Birthday to My Hubby

It was my hubby’s birthday and I wanted to make him something special.  Since he’s a chocolate lover, it’s just very natural that I made him a chocolate cake.  This is no ordinary chocolate cake.  I make this cake with Valrhona Chocolate, Valrhona cocoa powder, and Valrhona chocolate pearls, my choice of chocolate!  (It might sounds like an advertising, but NO, Valrhona didn’t sponsor my post nor send me free chocolate to say this, although I secretly wished they did! LOL)  I just love the deep and rich chocolate flavor from Valrhona products. 



I originally saw the crepe layer cake from Martha’s site.  I know I have to make it someday.  Even though I didn't exactly use Martha’s recipe, this cake was definitely inspired by her. 



I promise not to reveal my hubby’s age. But the answer is in the picture above. If you can count, his age is exactly the number of crepes I used for this cake. Cool, huh?



Since it was a surprise cake for my hubby, I made the cake when he was at work. So, how did I get the picture above? I was pouring melted chocolate with my left hand and holding my camera and shooting with my right hand. Not an easy task because my camera is quite heavy. I almost dropped the whole pot of chocolate onto the cake, I mean, the chocolate and the pot!!! hahahaha….it was kind of fun though and I’m happy I’ve captured this image.



I just love the melted chocolate drizzle down the layers of crepes that are filled with hazelnut cream. So luscious and beautiful.



After the cake was chilled in the fridge and decorated with candied hazelnut and chocolate pearls, it’s all ready for the candle and cake cutting ceremony.



It was definitely a fun cake to make, and it’s almost too beautiful to cut into, almost. For those who do not know what to expect from the inside of the cake, it will certainly come as a surprise once the cake is sliced open.  I definitely love the gorgeous layers of this cake.



Although the candied hazelnut didn’t come out as I expected because the candy “tail” chipped a little when I pick them up from the parchment paper, they still tasted wonderful. I love the crunch and the toasted nutty flavor from the "candied" hazelnut. 



Here’s how the inside looks like, with all the layers of crepes and cream, and love. 



If you have a special birthday celebration, I strongly suggest you to make this cake.  It’s a lot easier to make than it looks.  Plus, you can (and you should) make this cake a day, or two, ahead of time, without having to worry that the cake will get 'dried out' when sitting inside the fridge.  I’m sure the person who receives this cake will be very pleased and be very surprised!



Happy Birthday, My Love!  Wish you good health, love and happiness.  May all your birthday wishes come true.  I look forward to celebrate many many more “layers” and birthdays with you.





Valrhona Chocolate Crepe Layer Cake with Hazelnut Cream:
Printable Recipe


For the Chocolate Crepes:

• 4 large eggs
  5 tablespoons sugar
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup cake flour
  1/2 cup Valrhona cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• Butter, for coating the pan
• 
  
• In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend for 10 to 15 seconds, or until all ingredients are well combined. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  I let it rest in the fridge overnight.  Thus, allows the bubbles in the batter to subside and the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. 
• 
  
• Heat a crepe pan or a small non-stick pan on low heat. Grease the pan with butter and wipe off any excess with a clean paper towel. Pour 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of batter onto the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds on the first side and flip. Cook the other side for another 10 seconds and remove to a cutting board lined with parchment paper. I separate each cooked crepes with parchment paper until they are cool before I stack them together. Continue until all batter is cooked. 
• 
  
• For the Hazelnut Cream:
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup Nutella Chocolate Spread
  
  In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment or with your hand held mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.  Add Nutella and blend until well incorporated.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon of instant coffee granulate

8 ounces Valrhona 68% Bittersweet Dark chocolate, finely chopped

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, bring cream, corn syrup, and salt to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and instant coffee.  Stir with a wooden spoon until all chocolate is melted and the glaze is glossy.  Let cool completely.

• Candied Hazelnut (adopted from Martha Stewart):

  • 12 hazelnuts
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 
    
  • Thread each hazelnut onto tip of a long wooden skewer; set aside. Place a cutting board along the edge of a counter top; set a baking sheet on floor next to the edge.
  • 
    
  • In a heavy saucepan, cook sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil.  With a wet pastry brush, brush the sides of the sugar mixture to prevent crystals from forming. Let it boil until syrup turns light amber, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Let stand until slightly cooled, 6 to 8 minutes.
  • 
    
  • Dip 1 skewered hazelnut into syrup, coating completely and letting excess syrup drip back into pan. When dripping syrup becomes a thin string, secure end of skewer under cutting board.  Let caramel string drip over edge onto prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining hazelnuts. Let stand until caramel has hardened, about 5 minutes. Break strings to about 4 inches. Carefully remove skewers.

  
  

  To Assemble:  

  
  

  Set a wire rack over a baking sheet, place a crepe in the middle of the rack.  Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of hazelnut cream evenly on the crepe.  Top with another crepe.  Continue to layer the hazelnut cream and crepes until all cream are used up.  Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

  
  

  Drizzle 1/2 of the Chocolate glaze on top of the cake and let it dripped to the sides.  Spread remaining glaze around the sides of the cake and make sure all crepes are covered completely.  Refrigerate until glaze is firm, about 30 minutes.  Garnish with Candied hazelnuts and Valrhona Chocolate pearls.

  
  

  
  
  This recipe is shared with:
  
  
  Melt in your mouth Monday
  Sweets for Saturday
  These Chicks Cooked
  Cast Party Wednesday
  Full Plate Thursday
  Foodie Friday
  Fresh Food Friday
  Friday Favorite
  Fat Camp Friday
  Remembrance Cakes for 9-11

Nutella Macarons—And a confession…

I have something to confess.  A love affair, to be exact.  I guess it’ll be easier to admit it, than try to hide my true feelings.  My husband probably should know by now, after he caught me a few times sneaking out of the bedroom in the middle of the night.



Yes, that is bad. I know, really really bad.  He also noticed I daydream throughout the day, all day long, just to think of this affair.  Of course, the affair is with something sweet.  Don’t you know me by now that I daydream about food all the time?  Well, now you know.



No, my love affair is not with the macarons!   That’s more of a love-hate relationship.  My love is all sweet, soft and gentle.  No fuzziness or attitude like how I described them here. 





Yes, my love affair is with Nutella.  My husband should know when he saw me picked up the extra large, double packed tubs of Nutella from Costco.  Nutella and I go way back to my childhood.  It’s truly my childhood sweetheart.  Back then, I usually get Nutella in a sandwich, a crepe, or by the spoonful (and I still do)!  Now, I love to enjoy it most with salty pretzels!  If you haven’t try that, you just simply don’t know what you’re missing out on.



These Nutella Macarons are heavenly.  I used some hazelnuts along with almonds for the shells to tie back the nutting flavor of the Nutella fillings.  The macaron shells are slightly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, just how a perfect macaron should be.  I made some Nutella buttercream for the fillings, but I preferred it straight out of the tub.  The hazelnut flavor is more intense.  My hubby love the hazelnut buttercream fillings, which is more fluffy and creamy.  Either way, I’m a happy girl with these Nutella macarons. 



Note: I also used some vanilla powder to add more flavors on the shells.  It works much better than liquid ones since macaron doesn’t like moisture.

For more tips on making French Macarons, please refer to this post.





Nutella Macarons:
Makes: 35 to 40 filled macarons

For the macaron shells:

90 grams egg whites (about 3) preferably aged 3-5 days in the fridge
pinch of kosher salt
30 grams granulated sugar
185 grams powdered sugar
55 grams almonds
55 grams hazelnuts
1 teaspoons of vanilla powder
Nutella for filling



In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and salt on high, gradually add the sugar until stiff peak forms.

Place the powdered sugar, almonds, hazelnuts, and vanilla powder in a food processor and process until the nuts are finely ground.

Add them to the meringue. Fold the mixtures carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. The whole process takes about 40 to 50 strokes.

Test a small amount on a plate; if the tops flatten on its own after counting to 10, the batter is ready. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple more folds.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (1 inch to 1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets.  Here, I pipped them into heart shape instead of circles.  You can do whichever way you preferred.

Preheat the oven to 280F. Let the macarons sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on their size. Rotate baking pans once half way through baking. Cool completely on wire rack before removing macaron shells from baking sheets.

Fill a shell with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Nutella, top with another shell, repeat until all shells are filled.  If the filling gets too soft (especially here in California during summer time), keep filled macarons in the refrigerator.  When ready to serve, remove from fridge and leave in room temperature for 3-5 minutes.  Enjoy.

This recipe is linked to:

Foodie Friday
Full Plate Thursday
Sweet Tooth Friday
Friday Favorite
Fresh Food Friday
Sweets for Saturday

Hazelnut Cookies

Things had been a little hectic around the house.  As I mentioned from the previous post, we’ve found a house that we really like.  So, we’ve made an offer and the seller accepted it.  Which means, we have to go through the loan process, home inspection and a few things here and there to prepare for the purchase of this new place (assuming everything went smoothly).  On one hand, I’m really happy and excited about this change.  This new house is almost everything that we’ve dream of.  On the other hand, I’m terrified!  Having the idea of packing, moving, cleaning, unpacking, and organizing to do in the very next month gives me headache.  Not to mention, it's also a big change for us financially.  I feel like I’m already stressed out and needed a break.  After all, purchasing a new house is a stressful event, no matter how pretty the house is. 



Well, I better remind myself that all these chores and processes are somewhat temporary.  They will end at certain point in time, except for cleaning and tidying, which are pretty much on-going.  Come to think of it, it’s better that we move sooner than later so we can have the new place ready before the holiday seasons.  One thing I’m pretty sure is that once we’ve settled down, we’ll really enjoy this new home.    



So, just let me unwind and take a short break for the moment.  Let my imagination takes me to lay down on the greenest pasture next to a quiet lake.  Let the gentle breeze glides through my hair.  Let me enjoy the beautiful blue sky filled with tulip and Verbascum-shaped clouds (just like the shapes of these Hazelnut Cookies).  Let me close my eyes, enjoy a cup of coffee and a few hazelnuts cookies.  Life is wonderful!  Then, I heard a high pitch voice screaming from behind, “Mommy, Mommy, come play with me!”  And that’s the sweet voice of my 3 year old son, waking me up from my day dream!  Alright, break time is over and I’m back to reality.  How come no one told me the working hours of a stay at home mom is 24 by 7 when I “applied” for the job?  Oh well, guess I should have known better.  :)






Hazelnut Cookies:
Makes 48 1-inch diameter cookies
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup ground toasted hazelnuts
extra all purpose flour for rolling out the dough
 
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
In stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light in color and fluffy.

Scrape the bowl sides and bottom well.  While mixer is on low speed, gradually add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix to combine and scrape bowl sides as needed.
With mixer still on low speed, add the dry ingredients gradually until incorporated. Add ground hazelnuts and mix until a uniform dough is formed.

Divide dough into 2 pieces and flatten into ½ inch thick discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up dough. At this point the dough can be double wrapped and frozen for up to 2 weeks. To defrost dough, place in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, line cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.

On a floured board, place a piece of the dough and dust top with flour. Gently roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place on sheet pan, leaving 1 inch apart between cookies.

Bake for 10-11 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Transfer to wire racks with a spatula to cool completely.


This recipe is linked to:
Foodie Friday

Opera Macarons

I had been wanting to bake up some of these French Macarons for a while before I really put things into actions.  Why was I procrastinating?  Mainly was due to afraid of failure.  I’ve came across so many different recipes and they seemed hard to make and required lots of skills.  However, once I baked up my first batch, I was ecstatic!  I couldn’t wait to bake more, with different varieties and flavors. These French Macarons are not to be confused with the American Macaroons, the later one has shredded coconut as the main ingredient.  Versus the French Macarons, which are made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour, and both granulated and confectionery sugar.  It’s a blank canvas that you can be creative and put many different ingredients into it.



Did I mention they were hard to make?  Actually, not at all!  As long as you follow a few tips and you’ll be good to go.  First of all, precise measurement is important, as in all baking.  Measure all ingredients with a digital kitchen scale is essential to the success of a perfect Macarons.  You’ll always get a more precise measurement by weight than by volume.  So, if you still don’t have a kitchen scale, what are you waiting for?  Click here to check out the one I use.  I love it.

Second of all, follow each step of the recipe and don’t be lazy (like I am).  There are reasons behind each process.   For example, this recipe calls for aged egg whites and it is important because there’s less moisture in the aged egg whites, in ratio of protein.  If the batter is to runny, your cookies won’t bake up properly.

Last but not least, practice makes perfect.  My skills in using pastry bags was really classified as “beginner” (or worse, don’t even know what class that is) when I first started to make Macarons.  After 4 to 5 batches (forming more than 200 cookies shells), I upgraded my skills to intermediate level.  Yes, I’m still not perfect but it’s much better than before.   




These Opera Macarons are super delicious!  Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside.  Your taste buds will jump for joy when your tongue come across with the smooth and creamy coffee buttercream.  When you bit into the center, you’ll experience the "melt in your mouth" goodness with the rich chocolate ganache.  Ending with a hint of the hazelnut and almond flavor from the shells.  As I’m typing this post, I’m popping one (and another….and another… X ) in my mouth.  So, don’t just imagine how good it is.  Go make a batch and experience it yourself! 





Opera Macarons:   Adopted from Tartelette
Makes about 30-35 filled macarons
Printable Recipe

For the shells:
3 egg whites (110 gram) (I like to use 2-3 day old egg whites)
30 gram granulated sugar
200 gram powdered sugar
60 gram ground almonds
55 gram skinned and ground hazelnuts
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Espresso Powder

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Then, add the vanilla extract and espresso powder until well combined.

Combine the ground almonds, ground hazelnuts and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a quick pulse. It will break the powdered sugar lumps and combine your nuts with it evenly. Add them to the meringue and fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. The whole folding process shouldn't be more than 50 strokes.

Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small round (about 1.5 inches) onto parchment paper baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shells a bit. Preheat the oven to 280F and bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup bittersweet chocolate
In a heavy saucepan set over medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the stove and add the chocolate to it. Let stand 2 minutes and then stir until fully combined. Let cool until firm enough to put in a small piping bag.

Coffee Buttercream:
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Tablespoon Instant Espresso

Put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream.

Stir in the instant espresso until dissolved. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, add the vanilla extract and beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. If not using right away, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 1 month.

To Assemble:
Put the coffee buttercream in a piping bag and pipe a circle around the edges of a macaron shell. Pipe a dollop of ganache in the middle and top with another shell

Note: I only make half of the ganache and buttercream from the above recipes and there were enough to fill all the shells. If you make full recipe for the fillings, left over can be freeze for up to 3 months.

Tips: To age the egg whites, simply place them in a covered container and store in refrigerator for 2-3 days, or uncover at room temperature overnight.

This Recipe is linked to:
Sweets for Saturday
These Chicks Cooked

Labor Day Weekend

As “promised” from my previous post, there will be another birthday celebration.  This round is for my loving Mother-in-law’s birthday.  It also falls onto the Labor Day long weekend.  So, we celebrated her birthday with a “sleep over” at my in-law’s place.  I’m sure you all recognized this cake.  Yes, it’s another Chocolate and Hazelnut Meringue Cake.  Sorry if I disappointed you for not making something new for my Mother-in-law’s birthday.  But this cake is just so delicious that I have to make it one more time in such a short period of time.  Not to mention, my Mother-in-law is also a chocolate lover!  I guess it runs in the family! hehehe…


Of course, I used the best chocolate I can get.  This time with some chopping to do since the market ran out of those in small chips size.  I think the cake looks better this time around, too.  Don’t you think? 


To make it up to you for not having a new cake recipe on this post, I’ll share more pictures with you that I took over the weekend.  Did I mention that there are a few dozens of fruit trees at my in-law’s place?  So, I picked some fruits that are in season.  Unfortunately, my little boy got a fever over the weekend and he was not allowed to go outside (the outside temperature was 110 degree Fahrenheit).  Otherwise, he would be my fruit picking buddy.  Here are some of the harvests: juicy peaches, sweet figs and tart apples….



These peaches are so sweet and juicy.  Look at that vibrant color.  I love it!




Really hate to see food going to waste!  So, I picked a basket full of peaches, maybe I’ll make some preserves out of them later on. 
 
The picture below is a Meyer Lemon.  It’s a cross between a lemon and a mandarin.  They’re not only great for cookies and cakes, but also really nice in savory dishes, marinates and vinaigrettes. 




This is the flower from the Michelia tree (白蘭花).  You can smell its fragrant whenever you walk by.  The color of the flower should be ivory.  Somehow, this one turned into orange.    


These figs are super sweet.  They’re really good as is, excellent when you put them into Chinese soup, and divine if you wrap them with prosciutto!   Yup, another basket full! 



Not too sure what kind of apples these are.  They’re a bit too tart and firm to be eaten fresh.  Guess they’ll be really good in apple tarts/pies.


Up next, I was eying these pomegranate.  They’re not really ripe yet.  Not until the end of this month.  So, I’ll be visiting my in-laws again, soon.  Please wait for me, pomegranate!!!



It’s such a luxury to have the freshest fruits whenever you want them, right off the trees from the backyard.  Not many people are as fortunate as we do to have this garden of plants and fruits.  I truly appreciate and cherish it.  Once again, thank you Mother- and Father-in-law!

Chocolate and Hazelnut Meringue Cake

Here comes another Birthday celebration.  Yes, twice in a month; and don’t be surprised if there’s a 3rd one coming up!  This time, Mom and Dad brought Dim Sum to our place and we had lunch together.  I prepared this cake so we can have the cake cutting and wish making rituals; I remember we always have birthday cakes and other goodies to celebrate our birthdays when we were young.  Those were precious memories.  Mom even brought over some of our childhood pictures.  It was so nice to see those pictures again.  Gosh, I really looked young back then!
 

Next to me was my older brother.  Doesn’t he look handsome?  I remember we had many birthday pictures with this background until we moved to the new place when I was 7 or 8.  I still remember those bright pink plastic plates we always use for birthday cakes!  Come to think of it, I should have made some jelly to go around mom’s birthday cake also!  :P  



Back to the Chocolate and Hazelnut Meringue Cake.  I had so much fun making this cake because I knew my Mom would love it a lot.  I used some good quality bitter-sweet chocolate for the cake base (flourless).  It’s worth it to invest a little more on the chocolate because you can totally taste the difference.  The chocolate is so rich that you want to close your eyes, enjoy and savor every moment when you take your first bite (oh well, maybe that’s just me).  I love the contrasting texture of this cake.  The meringue is light and fluffy, the toasted hazelnuts add a nice crunch, along with the smooth and silky chocolate base.   Hope mom enjoyed this cake as much as I did.  Happy Birthday again, Mom.  I love you! 











Chocolate and Hazelnut Meringue Cake:
Makes one 9-inch cake

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• Cocoa Powder, for pan
• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
• 6 large whole eggs, separated
• 4 large egg whites
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled, plus 4 ounces roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon espresso
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup caster sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-3-inch spring form pan. Line bottom and sides with parchment. Butter parchment, and sprinkle with cocoa powder; tap out excess. Set aside.
Toast hazelnuts until fragrant and skins start to crack. Rub vigorously with a clean kitchen towel to take off skins. Let cool; roughly chop. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and smooth. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate, vanilla, and espresso; beat until combined. Set aside.
In a clean mixer bowl, combine 6 egg whites and salt; using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Stir one-third of the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining beaten egg whites just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, make meringue: Combine hazelnuts, chopped chocolate, and cornstarch in a small bowl, and set aside. Place remaining 4 egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean mixer bowl; using a clean whisk attachment, beat on high speed until frothy. With mixer running, slowly add caster sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes. Fold in hazelnut mixture.
Remove cake from oven. Using an offset spatula, spread meringue mixture on top of cake, and return to oven. Bake until meringue is lightly browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let stand 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen, and release sides of pan. Let cool, about 30 minutes, before slicing and serving.