The Catalan TableIngredients
Servings:
4
Ingredients
- Alella baker's flour
- 107 g100 grams
- 60 g100 grams
- 297 g100 grams
- 178 ml200 ml
- 11 g75 grams
- 750 g825 grams
Step-by-step Guide
Nutella Forki Nutaina
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix 200 g of flour, 100 g of sugar, and one teaspoon of baking powder until well combined.
- Add 2 eggs and 120 ml of sunflower oil, mixing until the batter is smooth and lump-free.
- Incorporate 150 g of Nutella into the batter and gently stir to distribute it evenly.
- Line a square or rectangular mold approximately 20x20 cm with parchment paper and pour the mixture into it.
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely in the mold before cutting into portions approximately 5x5 cm. Serve and enjoy!
Sources
- Christophe Michalak, world pastry champion in 2005. This recipe is inspired by his technique and style. The following steps will be crucial to achieve the ideal texture and flavor.
- Stefano Barbatto, with his contributions, enhances the quality of the ingredients and the precision of the measurement. He recommends using his own blend of chocolates to achieve a balanced result.
- El Forner d'Alella emphasizes the importance of using couverture chocolate, which contains at least 32% cocoa butter. This will ensure that the chocolate is smooth and creamy. Avoid using baking chocolate, as it often doesn't contain enough cocoa butter and can result in a less smooth texture.
- To prepare the chocolate mixture, use a ratio of 3/4 milk chocolate and 1/4 75% dark chocolate. Heat until completely melted and achieves a smooth texture.
- If you choose to mix milk chocolate with 75% chocolate, there is no need to add cocoa powder. Ensure the mixture is homogeneous before proceeding with the other ingredients.
- You can use semi-skimmed natural milk in this recipe. It is also possible to substitute it with whole, skimmed, powdered, almond, oat, or soy milk. Regarding spices, add 1/2 teaspoon of Ceylon ground cinnamon, optional but recommended for a special touch.
- Extra virgin olive oil is the main recommendation for added smoothness, but you can also use seed oils like grapeseed or sunflower to vary the final flavor and texture.
- Add 750 to 840 grams of hazelnuts according to your preference. Crush them until you obtain a fine mass that can be easily incorporated into the chocolate and sugar mixture. This combination will provide additional richness to your dish.
Forki Method
- Make a dry caramel with the regular white sugar to achieve a sweet and crunchy base.
- With the 120 g of white sugar (in three stages), make a lightly golden caramel, but not too dark, as it will become bitter. Ensure it has a light golden color.
- Place a saucepan over high heat, but not too intense, with 40 g of the sugar. Let the sugar melt completely. Never Stir with any spatula or spoon, nor shake the saucepan too much; just enough to distribute the sugar well and allow it to melt evenly.
- When the sugar has melted, add another 40 g of sugar and let it melt following the same procedure.
- Finally, add the remaining 40 g of sugar and a pinch of salt. Continue melting until everything is uniform.
- Don't hesitate to lower the heat if you see that the caramel is darkening too much. It's important to monitor the color to avoid a bitter taste.
- Once the caramel is done, pour it onto parchment paper in a thin layer. Let it cool completely until it is solid.
- When it is cold, break the caramel into pieces and chop them into small bits. Set these bits aside.
- To toast the raw hazelnuts, preheat the oven to 150 ºC.
- Toast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for 20-30 minutes, until they are golden and well-toasted but not dark, as they might turn bitter.
- Spread a clean kitchen towel on the countertop and place the hot hazelnuts straight from the oven on it.
- Allow the hazelnuts to cool slightly before handling them.
- Gather the corners of the towel to form a bag and rub the hazelnuts to remove their skins, ensuring you tightly close the sides of the towel to prevent the hazelnuts from escaping and falling on the floor.
- Separate the peeled hazelnuts into two equal parts.
- Blend the hazelnuts using a blender, starting with small quantities.
- Continue chopping the hazelnuts in small batches because if you add a large amount, the flour that settles at the bottom prevents the other hazelnuts from dropping and they cannot be chopped properly.
- Add small amounts of toasted hazelnuts to the blender jar and blend until fine fragments are obtained. Transfer them to a not very wide external container, where it will be easy to use the electric mixer later.
- Continue blending small amounts until you finish with all the hazelnuts.
- Prepare a praline by adding crushed caramel, oil, and powdered sugar.
- Finish refining the hazelnut paste by using the electric mixer for about 6-10 minutes, until you achieve a fine and oily paste. It may take this time or longer for the hazelnuts to release their oil.
- After a couple of minutes with the whisk, gradually add the crumbled caramel, little by little.
- Then slowly add the oil, to help refine the dough and achieve a smooth texture.
- Finally, incorporate the confectioners' sugar and continue beating until well integrated.
- The finer the dough, the better the final result will be.
- Pause from time to time to prevent the motor of the food processor from overheating too much. Set aside the dough once made.
Recommendations & Tricks
- Use couverture chocolate with between 32-34% cocoa butter to ensure a smoother and creamier texture in the final result. Baking chocolate may be too hard for this recipe.
- Mix 75% dark couverture chocolate with milk chocolate to achieve a perfect balance between intensity and sweetness.
- To get the maximum hazelnut flavor, purchase raw hazelnuts from Reus and lightly toast them in the oven before adding them to your mixture.
- When using white sugar for the recipe, make sure to weigh it precisely (e.g., 95 grams or 120 grams), as small variations can alter the final sweet texture.
- Prepare all ingredients in advance and measure them properly to ensure the assembly process of the recipe is quick and without interruptions.