I love anything with halzenut butter/chocolate - Godiva open oysters, Belgian Seashells, Callebaut gianduja, Ferrero Rocher, Bacchi, and even the occasional spoonful of Nutella. It is my hope to eventually make gianduja at home by mixing a good milk chocolate with some sort of halzenut butter or paste. I've heard about hazelnut paste but have never come across it. Is it made from roasted hazelnuts? Is it any good? Is it smooth? Although I like roasted almonds, I hate almond paste. Is hazelnut paste similar to that?

Also, I've tried making my own smooth hazelnut butter with a food processor, a blender, a mortar and pestle, and a spice grinder and failed every time - nothing was smooth enough to make gianduja. Any ideas on making smooth nut butters at home?

By Dolphinwaves (Dolphinwaves) on Saturday, February 07, 2004 - 12:59 am: Edit

There are several hazelnut paste in the wholesale market. They are very good, but one that I really like that is good for truffles and just spreading on cake is praline paste. It is a sweet version of hazelnut paste. I believe it is by Cocoa Barry, also wholesale, not sure how to go about getting it for home use. Also Cocoa Barry had a really good gianduja a few years ago, haven't used it sense, but I'm sure it is still good.

By Tortesrus (Tortesrus) on Saturday, February 07, 2004 - 10:23 pm: Edit

A Swiss Chocolatier (?)once told me that Gianduja was made commercially by the filberts being rolled and smashed between heavy metal rollers...that was the only way they could get them fine enough for the gianduja...sorry about my spelling...it's been a long day...(!)
I'm one step from being brain dead today.
I don't know what this has to do with hazelnut paste- just baking trivia- but I thought it might explain why the blender process wasn't sucessful.

By Scott123 (Scott123) on Sunday, February 08, 2004 - 01:34 pm: Edit

I figured that's how the chocolatiers do it. Chocolate beans are pulverized the same way. I'm hoping that someone at home might have found another way.

By Ladycake (Ladycake) on Friday, February 27, 2004 - 03:50 pm: Edit

Those metal rollers are attached to a wheat milling machine. There are some not too expensive versions out there and they work well for nuts. You have to take the nuts down a little at a time to prevent them giving up the oils. Hobart has a table top model for about $500. Good luck.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Saturday, February 28, 2004 - 12:22 pm: Edit

Scott, try heating the nuts up and keep going back to the stove to keep them hot while your smashing them.Why?...cause the nut will get a little softer when its warm(hot) and should be easyer to grind, smash, whatever.
you also know that they should be baked or roasted before right?
also, add a little oil to it while your smashing them.
then before you mix with the choc., make sure its room temp. cool.
and if none of this works, Swiss Chalet has one of the best products on the market, comes in a tub, lasts forever and you could eat it with a spoon, which I have, cause this also is one of my favorite things.
you can also take some and mix with powdered sugar and make a dough that can be rolled out and used for pastries. it rolls out quite thin and holds together good.
goodluck.

By Jonesg (Jonesg) on Sunday, April 18, 2004 - 03:01 pm: Edit

I just open a can of praline paste from American Almond.

Running it thru a meat grinder (minus the cutter blade) might help, you may have to regrind it several times.

By Pastrycrew (Pastrycrew) on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 08:42 pm: Edit

The closest we have come is praline ancienne - a more cruncy version of hazelnut paste.

We tried vegetable oil to thin out roasted hazelnut and a commercial stick belnder. After burning out the first motor, we called it quits. Robo-coupe won't do it either.

At Lenotre they used to run those things in the rollers for hours on end. Maybe why they only make praline paste once a year.

Praline paste is usually 50% sugar and has stabilizers like sorbitol or lecithin inside as well. Not sure if that makes a difference at home?

My last thought was to boil the hazelnuts to soften them, then let them dry slightly before trying. Hmmm... If you want to know where to buy some praline paste already made lemme know

Aloha, bt

By Scott123 (Scott123) on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 02:39 am: Edit

Thanks everyone for the great ideas. I think Chefspike's heat + added oil idea is a good one. I think that with enough added oil and heat, one could get hazelnuts to blend.

By Chefrev (Chefrev) on Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 03:44 pm: Edit

This may be too little too late but I came upon a recipe for hazelnut praline paste in Splendid Soups by James Peterson. It uses sugar and vegetable oil with the nuts to form a paste. The recipe calls for 1/2 pound of hazelnuts, 1 C. sugar, and vegetable oil. Bake nuts at 300 F for 10-15 minutes, rub with dry towel to remove skins. Chop muts in food processor, on pulse. til size of baby peas.

Make a caramel over med heat with sugar in sauce pan. Add nuts for 2 min off heat. Coat rolling pin with oil, spread caramel-nuts mix on greased sheet tray to cool for 2 min. Beat flat with rolling pin till about 1/4 in thick.

After mixture has cooled for 1-2 min, Grind in food processor scraping often, for about 5 min until desired consistency is reached.

Hope it helps. Have fun!

By Hesperus (Hesperus) on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 01:23 am: Edit

For the finely crushed hazelnuts, which is required of Gianduja; the best choice, and most successful in extracting all the hazelnut oils is to use a motar and pestle...

Also, the traditional praline paste recipe is a 1:1 ratio of nuts -- almond, hazelnut, or a mixture of the two; and sugar. A ratio of 2:1 may be used if a thicker paste, with the consistancy of almond paste is desired.

Make a simple syrup with the sugar and heat until a light caramel is formed. Add the nuts and stir until it has become a full bodied caramel. The heat from the sugar will toast the nuts.

Pour the caramel onto parchment paper and cool until hardened.

Break into pieces and grind in a food processor to desired consistancy.