Hazelnut Truffles

Ingredients

• 0.5 cupcocoa powder
• 2 tablespoonscup heavy whipping cream
• 0.3 lbchocolatedark (compound or couverture)
• 0.5 tablespoongrand marnier
• 20 hazelnutswhole with the skin
• 1 tablespoonmilk

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• sauce pan
• baking paper
• oven
• wooden spoon
• kitchen towels
• spatula

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220 C/450 F.
2. Place hazelnuts on an oven tray and roast until the skin cracks and the hazelnuts colour a little but not too much.
3. Place hazelnuts in a tea towel or kitchen paper and rub them against one another to remove most of the skin.
4. Place hazelnuts in a food processor and blend to a powder.Bring cream and milk to the boil in a saucepan and on a low heat, stir in chocolate until it has all melted. Stir in hazelnut powder and Grand Marnier.
5. Transfer preparation to a bowl and refrigerate for about 30-40 minutes, during which time you need to stir it two or three times with a wooden spoon. It will stiffen like thick icing.Stir chocolate mixture again before spooning it into the piping bag. Pipe small mounds of chocolate, about the size of a twenty cent piece or shape the mixture with a teaspoon. It is easier to do this on baking paper. Refrigerate truffles for about 30 minutes.
6. Place cocoa in a bowl. Using a spatula, lift each truffle and roll in the cocoa. To obtain a round shape, roll the coated truffles rapidly between the hands without pressing too hard. Then roll the truffles again in the cocoa and refrigerate until required.