Best Gianduja Roulade With Prune Armagnac Filling Recipes

PRUNES IN ARMAGNAC

Steps:

• Place 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags, add the prunes and honey, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 3 minutes to plump the prunes.
• Pour the prunes and all the liquid into a medium bowl and stir in the Armagnac, vanilla, orange juice, vanilla bean, and cinnamon sticks. With a vegetable peeler, cut 4 large strips of zest from 1 lemon and add to the mixture. Cut the lemon in half, cut 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices, and add to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 6 to 12 hours. (If you're not serving the prunes that day, refrigerate them in their liquid.)
• To serve, place the prunes in shallow dessert bowls and serve cold, at room temperature, or slightly warmed, spooning the macerating liquid over them. Add a scoop of ice cream, a drizzle of Armagnac, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkling of grated lemon zest. (You'll be surprised how much flavor this adds!) Serve immediately.

GIANDUJA ROULADE WITH PRUNE-ARMAGNAC FILLING

Steps:

• Line an 11-by-17-inch baking pan with parchment paper, and set aside. Place the egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale yellow, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, and set aside. Wash and dry mixer bowl.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg whites in mixer bowl, and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium high, and whip until stiff peaks form while gradually adding the sugar. Transfer egg-white mixture to a large bowl.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold egg-yolk mixture into egg-white mixture. Sift cocoa powder over top; fold in. Pour batter into pan; smooth top with an offset spatula.
• Bake until cake springs back when touched, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and immediately turn out onto a wire rack lined with parchment paper. Peel parchment paper from top of cake, and cool completely.
• Lay a clean piece of parchment paper on top of cake, and invert. Peel off and discard old parchment. Using an offset spatula, spread prune-Armagnac filling over cake. Spread Gianduja mousse evenly over filling.
• Starting at a shorter end of cake, roll cake into a roulade. Wrap in parchment; secure with tape. Freeze until set, about 2 hours.
• When ready to serve, remove parchment. Place roulade on wire rack set over a baking pan. Pour chocolate glaze over cake; tap pan on countertop, smoothing surface. Chill until set, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer to a serving platter; garnish with hazelnuts and sugared prunes. Serve remaining chocolate glaze on the side, if desired.

PRUNE ARMAGNAC CLAFOUTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 10-by-1 1/2-inch round baking dish with the butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
• In a small bowl, combine the prunes with 2 tablespoons of Armagnac and microwave on high for 1 minute. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and 1/3 cup granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and thick. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the cream, vanilla, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon Armagnac in a glass measuring cup. On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and then add the liquid ingredients, mixing well. Set aside for 10 minutes
• Distribute the prunes in the prepared pan and carefully pour on the batter. Sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve warm.

PRUNE AND ARMAGNAC CHOCOLATE LOG

Steps:

• Start off by soaking the prunes in the Armagnac, preferably overnight but at least for 2-3 hours. Place them in a bowl, pour in the Armagnac and press the prunes down well into the liquor. Cover the bowl and leave till needed. Now make the chocolate mousse. Place the broken-up chocolate and 4 fl oz (120ml) warm water in a large heatproof bowl, which should be sitting over a saucepan of barely simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Then, keeping the heat really low, melt the chocolate slowly. Now take it off the heat and stir it briskly till it's smooth, then let it cool for a few minutes. After that stir in the egg yolks and mix well with a wooden spoon. Whisk the egg whites to the soft peak stage, then whisk in the sugar - about one-third at a time, then whisk again until the whites are glossy. Next use a metal spoon to fold first one spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, then carefully fold in the rest. Place the bowl, covered with clingfilm, in the fridge for at least an hour. Now pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350F, 180C. Now you can get on with the cake: place the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until they start to thicken, then add the caster sugar and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens slightly, and finally mix in the cocoa powder. In another bowl beat the egg whites up to the soft peak stage, then carefully cut and fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Now pour the whole lot into the prepared tin and cook in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes until springy and puffy. Leave the cake to cool in the tin (it will shrink a bit, but that's normal), then when it's cold turn it out onto an oblong of greaseproof paper that has been generously dusted with icing sugar. Peel off the lining paper from the bottom of the cake (which will now be facing upwards), then spread the chocolate mousse over the cake, using a palette knife. Place the soaked prunes and the crème fraiche in a mini-chopper or food processor and give them a whiz - not too much, you need to keep the texture of the prunes. Now spread this mixture on top of the mousse. Finally roll up the cake to a log shape, using the greaseproof paper to help you - if it cracks a little, that only adds to the authenticity! Store, covered, in the fridge.

PRUNE-ARMAGNAC FILLING

Steps:

• Combine prunes and Armagnac in a small bowl. Cover with plastic; let soak overnight.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Toast until skins split, 8 to 10 minutes. Rub warm nuts in a clean kitchen towel, removing skins. Set aside.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer prunes to the bowl of a food processor. Add toasted hazelnuts and honey; pulse until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl, and cover. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.

GRANDMA SKEET'S PRUNE KOLACHES

Steps:

• Place the warm water, salt, egg and 2 tablespoons butter in the pan of a bread machine. Add bread flour, and pour 1/4 cup sugar on the edge of the pan. Make a shallow hole in the flour and add the yeast. Close the lid, and set machine for the DOUGH cycle.
• While the dough is mixing, combine the prunes, prune juice, 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, cloves and lime juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until prunes are soft and the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and blend in a mixer or food processor until smooth.
• When the bread machine signals the end of the dough cycle, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 20 small egg-sized pieces. Cover with greased plastic wrap, and set aside for 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Stir in melted butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to make a crumbly streusel.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a large baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
• Shape the kolache dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Press a shallow hole in the center of each one, and fill with prune filling. Top each of the kolaches with streusel. Let the kolaches rest until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.
• Bake until the tops are lightly browned, 14 to 16 minutes.

GREAT-GRANDMA'S PRUNE ROLL

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, shortening, egg yolks, sugar and salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate overnight., In a large saucepan, cook plums in water 12-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Mash; add sugar and lemon juice. Cook for 8-10 minutes over low heat until thickened. Cool and refrigerate., Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 3-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Dot with butter; sprinkle with cinnamon. Spread about 1/3 cup plum filling down the center of each. , Fold a third of the dough lengthwise over filling. Fold remaining dough over top; pinch seams to seal and tuck ends under. Place seam side down in two greased 15x10x1-in. baking pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled. , Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over loaves.

GIANDUJA

Steps:

• Line an 8-in. square dish with foil. Place hazelnuts and oil in a food processor; cover and process until mixture forms a paste. , In a large saucepan, melt bittersweet chocolate. Stir in 2-1/4 cups hazelnut mixture. Pour half of mixture into prepared dish. Refrigerate until firm., Melt candy bars; stir in remaining hazelnut mixture. Pour over bittersweet layer. Refrigerate until firm., Reheat remaining bittersweet mixture if necessary; pour over candy bar layer. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

PRUNES IN ARMAGNAC

Steps:

• In a small, non-reactive saucepan, combine the water and sugar. With a thin sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and bean to the pan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
• Place the prunes in a clean dry jar and pour the syrup over them. Allow to cool completely, then stir in the Armagnac. Refrigerate for at least 1 week before serving.
• Refrigerated, the prunes will keep indefinitely.