Cakes & Bakes: Hazelnut & chocolate chip scones

Hazelnut & chocolate chip scones with Nutella

Which do you prefer, sweet or savoury scones? My favourite has to be a classic Devon (or is it Cornish?) cream tea scone with butter, jam and clotted cream. I wanted to try another sweet version that was a little bit different, so came up with hazelnut & chocolate chip scones.

Scone dough with chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips Scone dough being cut into round shapes

As they contain lots of filling chocolate and nuts, I used a smaller cutter than normal to make the scones. The recipe quantities made 18 of this size. Needless to say, if you use a larger cutter, you’ll probably get about a dozen instead.

Uncooked scones on lined baking sheet

Sweet scones are usually split in half and spread with butter, jam and cream. These really suit being smeared with Nutella.

Cooked scones on a wire cooling rack

Click here or on the image below to save my hazelnut & chocolate chip scones recipe to Pinterest

Hazelnut & chocolate chip scones recipe | H is for Home

Hazelnut & chocolate chip scones with Nutella

Hazelnut & chocolate chip scones

Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine British
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • 375 g self-raising flour
  • ½ tsp cream of tartar
  • pinch of salt
  • 20 g cold butter cubed
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 300 ml buttermilk
  • 50 g hazelnuts roughly chopped
  • 50 g milk chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 225ºC/440ºF/gas mark 7
  • Grease & line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  • Into a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cream of tartar and salt
  • Rub in the cubes of butter
  • Stir in the sugar
  • Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk
  • Bring the mixture together until it forms a ragged ball of dough. Don't over mix
  • Fold in the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips
  • Turn the mixture out on to a well-floured work surface and flatten the dough to about 5cm high
  • Use a circular cutter to form the scones. Bring together the remaining bits of dough to form a solid ball. Gently flatten again so that you can cut out more circles
  • Put the scones on the prepared baking sheet and brush the top of each with a little milk or egg-wash
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are a lovely golden brown
  • Allow to cool completely on a wire rack
Halve & spread with Nutella to serve
Keyword chocolate, hazelnut, scones

Cakes & Bakes: White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies

White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve been venturing back into Aberystwyth to pop to the shops. We visited Ty Coed Treehouse in their brand new home opposite the town’s train station. It’s the kind of shop where you can pick up ingredients that you don’t always find in a supermarket.

malt, sugar and butter in a mixing bowl Adding dry ingredients to cookie mixture

I’ve been looking for malt extract for a while, and they had it in stock. I’ve used it to make Paul Hollywood’s malt loaf in the past, but this time, I’ve made a batch of white chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies.

Chopped white chocolate and hazelnuts with cookie mixture White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookie dough on a baking sheet

In the early 20th century, when sweets weren’t as ubiquitous as they are now, children would eat spoonfuls of malt extract. Malt extract was used as a nutritional supplement given alongside cod liver oil… it probably helped to mask the awfulness!

White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies

The cookies were lovely, with that particular taste reminiscent of Ovaltine and those childhood malt biscuits with cows stamped on the front. The white chocolate and hazelnuts go really well – as would milk chocolate with pecans or dark chocolate with Brazil nuts.

Click here or on the image below to save the recipe to Pinterest

White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies recipe

White chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies
Yields 24
Cook Time
18 min
Cook Time
18 min
Ingredients
  1. 125g/4½oz butter, softened
  2. 115g/4oz malt extract
  3. 55g/2oz soft brown sugar
  4. 1 large egg
  5. 300g/10½oz self-raising flour
  6. 100g/3½oz white chocolate, roughly chopped
  7. 140g/5oz hazelnuts, roughly choppedWhite chocolate & hazelnut malt cookies ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/350ºF/Gas mark 4
  2. Line two oven trays with parchment paper
  3. Process the butter, malt extract, sugar and egg in a food processor until well combined
  4. Add the flour and pulse until just combined
  5. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts
  6. Roll tablespoons of the dough into balls and place on prepared trays about 4cm apart
  7. Flatten balls to about 1 cm thick and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden
  8. Cool on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely
Notes
  1. Store in an airtight container for up to a week
Print
Adapted from Saunder's Malt Extract
H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Hazelnut chocolate meringue

Home-made hazelnut chocolate meringue | H is for Home #hazelnut #chocolate #meringue #dessert #recipe #baking #cooking #cookery #hazelnuts

We were in the supermarket this week, when I noticed cartons of pasteurised free range egg whites reduced from £3.10 down to just 93p. I immediately thought I could do something with that… hazelnut chocolate meringue.

I only needed the equivalent of 7 whites for this recipe, so I used the rest to make a couple of egg white omelettes for lunch the following day.

Whipped meringue and ground toasted hazelnuts | H is for Home

I’ve never used ‘pre-separated’ egg whites before, so I was surprised by how quickly they formed stiff peaks -barely a couple of minutes… and my mixer wasn’t even going full pelt!

Cooked round of hazelnut meringue | H is for Home Cooked round of hazelnut meringue | H is for Home

I had a bit of leftover meringue, so I made a couple of tiny ones to use as garnish. They’re also lovely as a little nibble to accompany a cup of coffee.

I like my meringue quite gooey and not at all chalky – these rounds were just that. The added ground hazelnuts gave it a little extra bite and a lot of extra nutty flavour.

Layering cream and Nutella on meringue rounds | H is for Home

The addition of the Nutella chocolate sauce carried on the hazelnut flavour; if you don’t have any in your store cupboard, you can make your own!

Detail of hazelnut chocolate meringue | H is for Home

Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest

Home-made hazelnut chocolate meringue recipe | H is for Home #hazelnut #chocolate #meringue #dessert #recipe #baking #cooking #cookery #hazelnuts
Hazelnut chocolate meringue
Serves 6
Cook Time
40 min
Cook Time
40 min
For the meringue
  1. 150g/5¼oz chopped hazelnuts, toasted and ground
  2. 385g/13½oz caster sugar
  3. 7 large free-range egg whites
  4. ½ tsp white wine vinegar
For the cream
  1. 600ml/21fl oz whipping cream
  2. 3 tbsps caster sugar
For the chocolate sauce
  1. 3 tbsps Nutella
  2. 1 tbsp of the whipping cream
To finish
  1. 20g chopped hazelnuts, toasted and/or 8 chocolate-covered whole hazelnutsHazelnut chocolate meringue ingredients
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For the meringue
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 175°C/350°F/Gas mark 4
  2. Draw 4 x 18cm/7" diameter circles on baking/parchment paper, then use to line 4 lightly-greased baking sheets
  3. Put the egg whites in a spotlessly clean mixing bowl and whisk with an electric hand/stand mixer to to the stiff peak stage
  4. Add the caster sugar to the whites a tablespoon at a time, whisking back to stiff peaks each time Once you've added half of the sugar, start adding in larger quantities, whisking back to stiff peaks each time
  5. Once all the sugar has been added, whisk in the vinegar to form stiff peaks, then fold through the ground hazelnuts with a metal spoon or balloon whisk
  6. Spoon or pipe the meringues forming circles onto the baking paper to give 3 flat circles and the fourth circle swirled a bit thicker (this will form the top layer)
  7. Bake for 40 minutes until the edges are crisp and set and the insides are still gooey
  8. Take out to cool for 20 minutes on their trays, then carefully transfer to wire racks to cool fully
For the cream
  1. Before whipping, reserve 1 tbsps of the cream (it will be used in the chocolate sauce)
  2. Using the whisk attachment of an electric hand/stand mixer, whip the cream and sugar to stiff peaks
  3. Set aside
For the chocolate sauce
  1. Soften the Nutella by pinging it in the microwave on a couple of 10-second bursts or over a bain-marie
  2. Gently stir in the whipping cream until combined
  3. Set aside
To build
  1. On a large serving plate/cake stand, dab a spoonful of the whipped cream into the middle to hold the stack firm
  2. Place one of the meringue rounds on top of the dollop of whipped cream
  3. Pipe/spoon a ¼ of the whipped cream on top of the meringue
  4. Drizzle a ¼ of the chocolate sauce over the cream
  5. Repeat stages 2-4 until all the meringue rounds, whipped cream and chocolate sauce is used up
To finish
  1. Garnish with a sprinkling of chopped, toasted hazelnuts and/or chocolate-covered whole hazelnuts
Notes
  1. Keep covered and refrigerated
Print
Adapted from delicious. magazine
H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Home-made Nutella

Home-made Nutella with shortbread biscuits | H is for Home

Last week, before we had a cooker, I made a (very successful) no-bake Nutella cheescake. This week, with a brand new range cooker installed in the kitchen, I made a batch of home-made Nutella.

Hazelnuts are currently in season and a big hazelnut tree hangs over our fence offering up its bounty. Shelling them is a time-consuming chore, but once you get into the rhythm (and stop banging your fingers) it’s very satisfying.

Removing the shells from hazelnuts using a small hammer Grinding hazelnuts using a pestle & mortar

As chance would have it, this week we were in Ultracomida in Aberystwyth having a coffee and I got one of their cookbooks off a shelf. In it was a recipe for home-made Nutella.

Heating cocoa, sugar and milk in a saucepan Adding peanut butter to chocolate sauce

There are 6 ingredients, all of which (except perhaps the hazelnuts) you already have in your kitchen.

However, next time I make it, I’d tweak the recipe slightly. It contains a ‘scant ½ pint’ of milk. The resulting ‘spread’ was a bit too thin. I think it could do with as little as a ¼ pint of milk.

Despite this, it made a fabulous dipping sauce for biscuits or croissants. I also had some as an ice cream topping… it made a wonderful combination!

If you choose to make a ‘thick’ version, a lovely idea would be to form it into shapes and wrap them to make lovely gifts. You can buy chocolate moulds in the shape of hearts, balls and domes.

Home-made Nutella in red heart-shaped ramekins

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Home-made Nutella recipe | H is for Home
Home-made Nutella
Yields 1
Ingredients
  1. 140g/5oz sugar
  2. 55g/2oz unsweetened cocoa powder
  3. 285ml/scant ½pt milk
  4. 1tsp vanilla extract
  5. 2tbsp smooth peanut butter
  6. 1 heaped tbsp ground hazelnutsHome-made Nutella ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Put the sugar and cocoa into a saucepan and stir until blended
  2. Gradually stir in the milk
  3. Bring to the boil over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, then lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes
  4. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for at least 5 minutes
  5. Add the vanilla extract, peanut butter and ground hazelnuts, stirring until perfectly amalgamated
  6. Leave to cool and pot up in a jar
Print
Adapted from Recipes & Ramblings
H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/