Roasted Hazelnut Brownies for a Coffee Pop-In

A rich and decadent brownie with a deep hazelnut flavour. When it comes to brownies, these roasted hazelnut brownies aren’t the simplest to make, but they are so very worth it. They’re probably more suited to adults than children but they make an ideal pairing with coffee for visitors or a festive gathering.

Everyone is so busy dashing about at this time of year that it can be hard to organise a festive gathering of friends. When I was recently sent a rather snazzy coffee machine to put through its paces, my thoughts immediately turned to hosting a coffee morning.

Afternoon tea is more my style and as my blog bears witness, I have often thrown an impromptu tea party. But a coffee morning when friends could drop by on their way into or out of town and grab a drink and piece of cake along with a quick chat seemed more appropriate this time. Pop-ups are all the rage, but I thought I’d stage my own pop-in.

Coffee Pop-In

I’ve never had a coffee machine before, so I was rather intrigued to find out what this Bosch Tassimo Vivy T12 was going to be like. Bosch is a brand I respect and I’d heard a lot about Tassimo, so I was expecting something good.

What first impressed me was how neat it was. I have a small kitchen and was worried about it taking up too much space, but I needn’t have done. It not only looked sleek and smart, but it was quite compact too.

The instructions came in pictorial form, so it was easy to put together and prepare for first use. I did a trial run to be sure I knew what I was doing before my friends started to pop-in and I was quite impressed. As it turned out, my friends were too. Never had I served them with such artistic coffee – rustic is more my style.

The Tassimo capsules made for quick and easy preparation. I served Costa cappuccinos and Twinings Après-Midi d’Orient for the non coffee drinkers. The tea was black, scented with strawberries and contained rose petals. It was light and fruity with a hint of rose, which I really liked. It may have been better served for afternoon tea, but it was enjoyed nonetheless.

The tea capsules came in a pack of sixteen and the cappuccino in a pack of eight espresso coffee capsules with corresponding milk capsules.

Roasted Hazelnut Brownies

Obviously I wasn’t going to serve only coffee and tea. I was taking part in Tassimo’s campaign to be the perfect host, after all. No, I made some hazelnut brownies adapted from John Torrode’s recipe for chocolate brownie cake with white chocolate chips. Who doesn’t enjoy tucking into a brownie?

As it was a festive occasion, I decorated the serving table appropriately. Amazingly I had one last rose just coming out in my garden. This had to make an appearance. My top tip is for a scattering of chocolate coins over the Christmas table. It’s easy to do and doesn’t cost a fortune either. As well as looking festive and attractive, it has the added bonus of providing additional treats to tuck into.

The brownies were sumptuous and like a famous brand of chocolate, there was a hazelnut in every bite. The roughly ground hazelnuts gave a lovely nutty crunchy texture which married well with their fudgy disposition and the white chocolate pieces and hint of whisky were an added surprise.

In fact, I reckon these are up with the best brownies I’ve ever made. And I made them with a hundred percent wholemeal spelt flour.

A good time was had by all and inspired by this success, I may do another pop-in dreckly, as we say down here in Cornwall.

These roasted hazelnut brownies would also make a very special dessert. Just serve them warm with ice-cream. Coffee ice-cream would be especially good.

Other Hazelnut Recipes You Might Like

• Apple & hazelnut spelt rye sourdough bread
• Apple, hazelnut & choc chip cake
• Blackberry & apple pancakes with brown buttered cobnuts
• Chocolate hazelnut crackles
• Chocolate hazelnut ladoo
• Hazelnut & orange torte
• Hazelnut shortbread
• Jerusalem artichoke cake
• Toffee apple hazelnut cake
• Wild garlic & hazelnut pesto

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these roasted hazelnut brownies, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

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If you’re after more brownie ideas, I have rather a lot of recipes in my Brownies and Blondies category.

Choclette x

Roasted Hazelnut Brownies. PIN IT.

Roasted Hazelnut Brownies – The Recipe

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5 from 1 vote

Roasted Hazelnut Brownies

A rich and decadent brownie with a deep hazelnut flavour which is probably more suited to adults than children. When it comes to brownies, these aren't the simplest to make, but they are so very worth it.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brownies, cocoa, hazelnuts, whisky, white chocolate

Servings: 16 brownies

Calories: 333kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

• 250 g unsalted butter
• 95 g cocoa powder
• 120 g hazelnuts
• 3 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
• 375 g golden caster sugar ( I used cardamom sugar)
• 185 g wholemeal spelt flour
• 2 tsp whisky
• 50 g white chocolate chips
• icing sugar for dusting
• gold glitter to dust

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a pan over gentle heat, then stir in cocoa powder and leave to cool a little.
• Roast hazelnuts in the oven at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for about ten minutes. Rub the skins off with a clean tea towel then blitz the nuts briefly in a coffee grinder or mini food processor so that some are finely ground and some are still in large chunks.
• Beat eggs and sugar until the mixture is pale and thick.
• Fold the butter mixture in as gently as possible.
• Sift in flour then fold into batter along with the hazelnuts.
• Finally, stir in whisky and white chocolate chips, again keeping things as gentle as possible.
• Turn into a 9" square silicone mould and bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 20 mins, when the top should be firm to the touch, but with a slight wobble to the mixture.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. Turn out of the mould and cut into sixteen squares.
• Dust half of the squares with icing sugar and the other half with a little gold glitter and arrange in a checkerboard pattern onto a suitable plate – I used a bamboo platter.

Notes

Adapted from a recipe by John Torrode.

Serve with ice-cream for a special dessert. Coffee ice-cream would be especially good.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 18mg | Potassium: 208mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 435IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.

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Karen has chosen glitter, sprinkles, candles and shiny stuff for this month’s Tea Time Treats over at Lavender and Lovage. With the gold glitter on these brownies and the generally festive table, I’ve decided to take part.

This is a sponsored post, however all words, images and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands and organisations that help to keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging.