Tag Archives: nutella

Strike 4 (For Nutella Lovers)

Posted in Dessert by

It’s been far too long since I created something with the best (and yes, extremely unhealthy) ingredient: Nutella. My not so secret love affair. There are quite a few palm oil free “substitutes” around, but let’s be honest, none are as good as the original. When it comes to sweets, Italians know what they are doing.
With a trip to Italy in close vicinity, inspired by my Nutella recipe book, I thought I would attempt a twist on an Italian classic – Panna cotta. Funnily enough, I have never made Panna cotta before. One could tell. I knew it would be tricky. The consistency was more like pudding. Oops…… Nevertheless, it still passed as Nutella infused heaven and was an acceptable dessert for a girls’ games night. Regarding the games, it sadly didn’t give me a winning hand.

Nutella Pudding

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Hazelnut Inspiration

Posted in Dessert, Mains by

So, as I previously mentioned, I have recently started taking one ingredient and basing a menu around it. Reasoning behind this new approach is an open house I attended one evening at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School. It was amazing and inspired me to up my game until I maybe one day decide to rob a bank of £30’000 for LCB’s educational fees. Until then I shall follow my own syllabus and teach myself the basics of classical cuisine. Today’s choice: Hazelnut. Why? NUTELLA, obviously! The best ever invented chocolate spread is based on hazelnuts. So….. anything made with hazelnuts must be good, right? With that in mind, I took a recipe from LCB for the main and once again attempted to be all master-chefy 🙂

P.S. For all you Nutella freaks – check this article out for inspiration on some crazy things you can do with Nutella. I’m tempted to try the Nutella, peanut butter and bacon sandwich….nom!

 

Sautéed Beef Fillet, Butternut Squash Purée and Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnut Vinaigrette

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taken from Le Cordon Bleu

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Nutella Cheesecake Deconstruction

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After having finished all 10 seasons of Friends I needed something new to watch….. what better foodie-suited brainless TV-show is there than MasterChef? I was up-to-date with the new season within just over a week….. waiting for a new episode to be aired is AWFUL!!! I WANT TO SEE MORE AMAZING FOOD AND KITCHEN DRAMA.

Anyways, regarding my cheesecake. I have never really been a fan of cheesecake or plain cream cheese icing until a couple weeks back, when I ordered a baked peanut butter cheesecake at a local pub (my reasoning behind this daring order: anything with peanut butter must be good and it was the only thing on the dessert menu I had never before made myself). It was amazing! So I thought to myself, it must taste even more amazing with Nutella. After a rather disappointing attempt of trying to bake a Nutella cheesecake, MasterChef inspiration struck: How about a no-bake cheesecake with an almost 1:1 Nutella : cream cheese ratio? And why not deconstruct it to lighten the whole dish up, make it look all fancy and pretend one day I could be on MasterChef? Using Nigella Lawson’s recipe as guidance, this is what I came up with. OMG it has taken cheesecake to a new level for me. No-bake and deconstruction is the way to go. Everyone loved it.

It also made me think whether or not to try the recipe with peanut butter instead…… I shall keep you updated.

Deconstructed Nutella Cheesecake

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Strike 2

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The best hazelnut chocolate spread strikes again. Yes, I am talking about Nutella. At last years Salon du Chocolat (an absolute must for chocolate lovers! Three whole days dedicated to the most innovative chocolate creations…. no wonder we felt slightly nauseous by the end of it), one chocolatier created a chocolate-hazelnut paste, which actually came out of a tube like face cream. It was deceptively advertised as tasting better than Nutella. Those are daringly big words carrying huge expectations! Honestly, why did they think they could create something superior to Nutella……? The paste was tasty, but definitely miles from the all time favorite.

Needless to say, it shouldn’t be a surprise to you that Nutella is the one item never missing from my kitchen. With an upcoming dinner invitation and a newly bought jar of chocolate goodness, I decided to attempt making a bring along gift instead of buying one. The result: tiny yet devilishly satisfying post-dinner delights:

Nutella Truffles

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Taken from the most epic recipe book created

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Nutella Cupcakes

Posted in Cake / Cupcakes by

In my last post I mentioned baking 72 cupcakes in an extremely hungover state, which is admittedly the second best cure to recover from intoxication. These cupcakes are truly a MUST for Nutella lovers. A Nutella filled center and Nutella based icing…. what more can a Nutella monster ask for?

A small bonus for all Nutella fans amongst you: check this out. It is even shaped like the jar!

Nutella Cupcakes

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