Titan Supper Club - Chocolate and hazelnut biscotti.

I was invited to join the Titan Supper Club this month.  A lovely out of the blue invitation. It was one of those weird serendipitous coincidences.

 I'd just bought 'A' a new coffee grinder, and as we were drinking a pot with the aroma of the freshly ground beans still in the air we were deciding wether to try and get away to Europe for a few days over the holidays.

We began to reminisce about when we used to spend the summer in Tuscany every year, and how we missed it. About  the awesome time we met hospitable Evo, who only spoke about two words of English but managed to invite us to a homemade supper in the cutest little chestnut lodge up in the Tuscan hills. Of waking up to beautiful scenery (must get the photos out of the old computer). The morning walks we'd have down to coffee shops or bars in Sienna or Florence where we'd have espresso and crunchy biscotti for breakfast, sometimes even the odd Brandy or Amaretto. H would have hot chocolate of course, and no alcohol. 

We remembered the culture and the museums,  the buzz in the air like nowhere else we've ever been to. Of driving up the steeply curved roads with the roof down on balmy nights pretending to be Audrey Hepburn...(the girls that is).  

Wow...I think I got a bit carried  off down that road again...Anyway the point I was trying to make was, what with the coffee, and the reminiscing we both decided to have a go at making biscotti sometime. We've never tried before but always said we would. So when I was sent the recipe, and even a voucher for my favourite store to buy all the lovely ingredients for chocolate and hazelnut biscotti, I was over the moon. 

...And it was so much easier than I expected...

Here's the recipe curtousy of the chocolate log blog if you'd like to try too: (I've been struggling to link over to it all day but without fail...I'll keep trying)

Ingredients:

• 140g hazelnuts
• 100g dark chocolate
• 300g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 75g cocoa powder
• 200g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2tsp orange zest
• 3 large eggs

Method:

1. Roast the hazelnuts in a hot oven for ten minutes to loosen the skins. Allow to cool and then roll between your hands to remove the skins. Chop roughly. Turn the oven down to 180c.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cocoa powder into a large bowl, add the sugar and mix. Make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into it one by one. Work the eggs into the mixture and the vanilla extract with a wooden spoon, by bringing the dry ingredients in from the side. 
3. Melt the chocolate the pour it into the other ingredients, mixing it until it is evenly spread through the mixture. Stir in the nuts, if the dough is too dry to hold together, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water to bring it together.
4. Divide the dough into two and roll into sausage shapes, about three inches (8cm) wide. Place the two sausages on lined baking trays (best to use two trays, as they will expand) and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until they are a rich dark brown. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. 
5. Slice the rolls diagonally, making each slice about 1cm in width. Bake the slices for a further 20 minutes (10 mins on each side) at 160c. Cool on a wire rack before eating. 

These are delicious and more-ish, deeply chocolatey very grownup double chocolate biscotti. Awesome with coffee, espresso or filter, or even better afoggato for an extra special treat. Very easy to make. I think maybe I'll try almond ones next...ooh with a hint of amaretto.

This recipe makes lots. As usual I was overly generous and my slices were more like two than one centimetre deep, but that just made them twice as yummy. I really recommend trying these. 

Do you have any special deserts that bring back nostalgic memories? It's really good to have a go at making them...it conjures up all those magical memories over again...

debx