Hazelnut Tartuffo Food

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT TARTUFO

Steps:

• Combine milk, cream, and 1/3 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat; stir until the sugar dissolves, about 3 to 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar until the egg yolks are light in color, about 4 minutes. Stir 1/2 cup of the milk mixture into the egg yolks, then pour all of the egg mixture into the saucepan, stirring continuously. Cook, stirring continuously, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Add the chocolate hazelnut spread, espresso powder, and vanilla, stirring until well combined. Pour through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Refrigerate several hours until cold.
• Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Transfer gelato into an airtight container and place in freezer until solid.
• To make the tartufo: Scoop 4-ounce portions of gelato and form into balls using your hands. Poke a hole in each ball and place 1 cherry in each, cover with gelato, and place on a baking sheet. Roll gelato balls in the grated chocolate until coated and return to the freezer until ready to serve. Serve with whipped topping, if desired.

TARTUFFO

Steps:

• With a small ice cream scoop, make walnut-sized balls of the chocolate ice cream. Shove a hazelnut into the center of each ball. Freeze. With a larger ice cream scoop, dig out flat globs of vanilla ice cream and pack it around the chocolate ice cream ball, covering completely. Freeze for 30 minutes. Roll in chocolate shavings and keep frozen.

HAZELNUT TARTUFFO

Steps:

• At least a day ahead of serving, shape the gelato into balls by arranging 5 squares of plastic wrap on a countertop and placing a portion of the gelato in the center of each. Bring the wrap around each and twist together to enclose. Mold each into a ball (the shape doesn't have to be perfect at this point), unwrap and push a cherry into each center. Rewrap. Place the balls on a baking sheet and freeze for at least 6 hours, rounding out the shape for the first hour. Remove plastic wrap from balls after about 2 hours.
• For the ganache coating, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water and whisk in 1/2 cup heavy cream until completely smooth. Remove from the heat and cool completely. (Do not refrigerate.) The mixture should be about 70 degrees and will be thick enough to make a ribbon on itself when the whisk is lifted.
• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Working with one ball at a time, dip into the ganache to coat. Immediately sprinkle with some hazelnuts. Freeze 2 hours to harden and then store in a covered container in freezer until ready to serve.
• To serve, warm the remaining 1/4 cup of heavy cream and whisk into remaining ganache. Add the remaining hazelnuts. Serve as a sauce for tartuffo.