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1
Caramelized Hazelnuts - Place the nuts in a lagre baking tin and set aside. Preheat the oven to 175c degrees.
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2
Combine the brown sugar, golden syrup, butter and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar melts, and bring it to a boil.
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3
Boil the mixture for four minutes without stirring. Once the four minutes is up, remove immediately from the heat. Add the vanilla and baking soda, and stir quickly.
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4
Immediately pour the mixture over the nuts in the pan and stir to coat the nuts thoroughly.
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5
Bake the caramel nuts for 40 minutes, stirring after every 10 minutes.
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6
Remove the nuts from the oven and spoon them onto a baking sheet covered with foil. Allow them to cool at room temperature, and once cool, break them into pieces. Store Caramel Nuts in an airtight container at room temperature.
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7
Blitz the nuts in a food processor until consistency is similar to bread crumbs.
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8
Creme Anglaise - In a large mixing bowl, cream together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy.
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9
Combine the milk and chopped vanilla pods and seeds in a heavy-bottomed pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 30 seconds.
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10
Pour the milk mixture onto the eggs and sugar, whisking continuously until smooth and creamy, then return the mixture to the saucepan. Place the pan over a medium heat and stir continuously for 4-5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
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11
Strain the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, stir for a few minutes, then place into the fridge to chill until needed.
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12
Hazelnut Cream - Whisk the cream and nutella together until slightly thickened and transfer to the fridge to chill until needed.
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13
Vanilla Tuile - Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
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14
Mix egg whites, flour, sugar and vanilla essence together to form a smooth paste.
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15
Pipe the paste in a spiral motion onto a piece of baking parchment and bake in the oven for five minutes or until golden.
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16
Remove from the oven and while still warm, shape biscuits into desired shape by lying over an upturned bowl.
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17
Panna Cotta. - Soak the gelatine leaves in a little cold water until soft.
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18
Place the milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds and sugar into a pan and bring to a simmer. Remove the vanilla pod and discard.
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19
Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves, then add to the pan and take off the heat. Stir until the gelatine has dissolved.
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20
Divide the mixture among four ramekins and leave to cool. Place into the fridge for at least an hour, until set.
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21
Preparation is down to your own artistic temperament. I sat the Panna cotta in the middle of the plate with the nuts scattered round the base, a piping of the hazelnut cream on top of the panna cotta. Small daps of creme anglaise dotted around the plate and the tuile positioned around the panna cotta as though encasing it.
