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Sugar et al

Because Life is a blend of flavours...

Hazelnut ShortBread Bites

26|04|2025

When it comes to baking, I’m always looking for ways to make recipes simpler and prettier — and these Hazelnut Shortbread Bites made in a mini muffin pan are just that. They’re buttery, nutty and practically foolproof, with perfect little edges thanks to the magic of a mini muffin tin. Being eggless makes them accessible to all your vegetarian friends.

Hazelnut Shortbread Bites

If you’re ready for an easy, elegant treat that looks like it came from a bakery, you’re going to love this one. After the popularity of my Pistachio Shortbread Bites, I knew I wanted to create a hazelnut chocolate version.

Hazelnut Shortbread Bites

These Nutella-Filled Hazelnut Shortbread Bites are little pockets of joy —easy and oozing with chocolatey goodness. One bite, and you’ll understand why making cookies in a muffin pan and filling them with Nutella might just be the best idea ever.

Hazelnut Shortbread Bites

Are you ready to impress yourself and everyone you know? Because these bites will disappear fast!

Hazelnut Shortbread Bites
Yields 14-16

1 cup (125 g) plain flour
1/2 cup (75 g) hazelnut meal/ground hazelnuts
1/3 (66 g) cup castor/granulated sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup (114 g) unsalted butter, softened, cubed
1 tsp vanilla extract or rosewater
1/2 cup Nutella or any chocolate hazelnut spread (or your favourite preserve)
chopped hazelnut, to decorate
edible rose petals, to decorate (optional)

Make the Hazelnut shortbread bites : Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners.

In a food processor or in a large bowl, combine the plain flour, hazelnut meal, sugar and baking powder To this mixture, add the butter along with the vanilla extract. Pulse the mixture in short bursts until it comes together to form a dough. If you’re doing it by hand, gently rub the butter into the mixture until it all comes together.

Knead until it forms a smooth dough that can be scooped and rolled into balls easily. Using a small cookies scoop, scoop out dough balls, rolling them in the palms of your hands.  Place the dough balls in the muffin liners.

Using the blunt end of a wooden spoon create an indent on the top of each dough ball about 1/4 inch to make room for Nutella or preserves if you’re using them.

Melt Nutella in the microwave so it is of a pourable consistency, about 25-30 seconds. Spoon the Nutella into the indents so it creates a filling. Do not over fill. Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts over the filling.

Place the muffin pan in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Remove pan from oven, leave aside to cool shortbreads in the pan. They will be crumbly at this stage so allow it to fully cool down. Enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Mini Cakes

2|01|2025

Flourless Chocolate hazelnut cake

This was meant to be the last post for 2024. Due to some technical issues on the website I coudn’t publish it (my apologies) but on the positive side, it’s the very first post for 2025. These flourless chocolate hazelnut cakes are the most irresistible dessert one can have plus they are are flourless and great for your gluten free guests. I love the taste and texture of hazelnuts but ground almonds or walnuts are amazing too.

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cakes

We only have red currants available to us for a very short time in December. Most of my New Year’s or rather December is spent back home with family in India. So this year since I had the opportunity to get hold of these gorgeous red currants and the best pairing has to be chocolate.

My Chocolate cream cheese is not too sweet, creamy and works beautifully with these indulgent mini cakes.

I’m tempted to double up the recipe for these flourless chocolate hazelnut cakes into a single individual cake. I think, topped with cream and berries it would make the perfect cake for a chocolate lover. It’s rich so a mini version or a small slice is enough to satisfy those chocolate cravings

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. Hope 2025 is everything you desire it to be.

If you’re a fan of mini desserts and cakes, you will love these Mini Pistachio Cakes

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Mini Cakes
Makes 7-8 mini cakes

Chocolate Hazelnut Mini Cakes
100 g unsalted butter, roughly chopped
100 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 tbsp water
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated/castor sugar
1 cups hazelnut meal (ground hazlnuts)

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 oz (115 g) cream cheese, room temperature
1 ½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar
2 tbsp (11 g) Dutch processed cocoa powder

To make the mini cakes : Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 derees C for fan forced ovens). Lighly grease the holes of a 6 cavity mold or muffin pan.

In a medium saucepan, over low heat warm the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder and water until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool down.

In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick (about 4-5 mins). Add the chocolate mixture and hazelnut meal and mix well to combine. In a third bowl, beat the egg whites untl almost stiff peaks form. Fold into the chocolate-egg yolk mixture little at a time so as to keep the mixture light and airy.

Spoon batter into the molds upto three quarters of the mold. These cakes don’t have a great rise and will fall back a bit as they cool. Bake for 30-35 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs. We don’t want to overcook them or they will turn out try.

Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10-15 mins, slightly loosen the edges with a blund knife, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled to room temperature, pipe or dollop chocolate cream cheese frosting. Decorate with fresh red currants or raspberries.

To make the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting : Using a hand mixer or an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and the butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and beat till well blended.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies

22|09|2024

Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies

I started my cookie baking for the festive season early, this year. Almost every year I end up with a bunch of recipes that I worked on but are too late to post as it’s almost January by the time I can get to it. These Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies are simply amazing. Not only do they come together in minutes, they are egg free, require no chilling of the dough or any rolling out and so on. They are extremely addictive due to the nuttiness of the hazelnuts that are complemented by dark chocolate.

I have used molds to create the design but if you don’t have a mold, use could use a sillicone muffin pan or simply bake the biscuits and then dip them in chocolate. Or you could create thumbprint cookies by filling the centres with chocolate. The possibilities are endless with these Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies

Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies
Makes 10-12 cookies

125 g (approx 1/2 cup +1 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (60 g) icing/powdered sugar
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
3/4 cup (94 g) plain flour

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Spray your cookie mold with non stick spray. Alternately, line a baking sheet with baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in the hazelnut meal and flour until combined and a dough is formed that is almost firm and can be rolled into balls easily. Add a little more flour if required.

Scoop 1 tbsp of dough and place in the hole of each mold. Using the back of a spoon or with your fingers, press the dough lightly to take the shape of the mold. You don’t have to be perfect as the dough will rise and spread slightly to fit the molds. If not using a mold, simply roll the dough into balls and place on the baking sheet 1 cm apart. Make a small dent in the middle with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and feel firm to touch. Remove from oven, allow to cool in mold for 15-20 mins, then gently turn the mold tray over for the cookies to slide out. Allow to cool completely before coating with chocolate. If you’re baking the cookies on a sheet, allow to cool and fill up with melted chocolate or ganache.

Pipe (or spoon) small amount of melted dark chocolate into a clean mold. Place cookies over the chocolate, allowing some of it to come up the sides. Place mold tray in the fridge to set. Repeat with remaining cookies. Cookies should easily come off the molds.

Hazelnut Cake with Cinnamon

30|07|2023

Hazelnut cake with Cinnamon

I may have decorated the cake a bit much but it’s really a divine tasting hazelnut cake insfused with powdered cnnamon and decorated with a cinnamon buttercream. The colours are misleading but aren’t they eye catching? One would associate browns and creams with this sort of cake but I love surprises and thought of this cake as a delicious surprise.

Hazelnut cake with Cinnamon

The buttercream can be skipped altogether and the cake can be drizzled with chocolate ganache or a dusting of cinnamon sugar. I think the nuttiness and coarse texture of a hazelnut cake and the smell of cinnamon is a mind blowing combination.

Hazelnut cake with Cinnamon

Do you like your cakes to look classic and indicative of the ingredients or do you like to play around with the appearance?

If you love cinnamon flavoured cakes, dont forget to check out this Cinnamon cake with apple rosemary buttercream.

Hazelnut Cake with Cinnamon
Makes a 7 inch (18 cm) round cake

½ cup (114 g/1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup (220 g) light or dark brown sugar
2 eggs
½ cup (51 g) hazelnut meal
1 cup (125 g) self-rising flour
1 tbsp (8 g) powered cinnamon
½ cup (120 ml) milk

Cinnamon Buttercream
1/4 cup (114 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (240 g) icing/powdered sugar
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
1 tbsp (15 ml) milk
1-2 drops teal gel food coloring

Make the hazelnut cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray the base and sides of a 7-inch (18-cm) round cake pan and line the base with baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in the hazelnut meal, flour, cnnamon and milk in alternating batches, until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth out the surface with a spatula.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven. Set it aside for 10 minutes, then gently run a blunt knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Carefully turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the cinnamon buttercream: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, beating constantly until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as and when required. Add the cinnamon and milk, and beat until smooth

Assemble : Place the cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Using a piping bag fitted with an open star nozzle, pipe a border of the buttercream onto the top of the cake. Decorate with sugar or fresh edible flowers.

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