A hazelnut praline paste that sets firm enough to slice, made in Germany by Lubeca.

Thirty-eight per cent roasted hazelnuts are ground with sugar, cocoa mass and cocoa butter into a smooth brown paste that melts softly and smells of roasted nuts. The cocoa butter is what separates it from an ordinary praline paste: as it cools it sets, so you can cut it cleanly instead of only piping it. It comes in a 2.5kg box, which is a sensible quantity for a filling you cut to size rather than pipe by the kilo.

What Does Sliceable Mean Here? 

Most praline pastes stay soft at room temperature, which is what you want for a piped bonbon centre but not for a layer you need to cut through. This one carries cocoa mass and cocoa butter alongside the nuts and sugar, so it behaves like a soft chocolate: workable when warm, firm and cuttable once cool. Our Lubeca Hazelnut Praline Paste (SCM132) is 50% hazelnuts with no cocoa at all and stays pasty, so reach for that one where you want flow and this one where you want structure.

How to Use Sliceable Hazelnut Praline Paste 

Warm it gently until it is workable, then spread, roll or pipe it. For a cut bar, spread a thin even layer into a frame over a sheet of tempered chocolate, leave it to set at the storage temperature of 15 to 18C, then cut with a warm knife or a guitar cutter before enrobing. For a moulded bonbon, pipe it while it is still warm and let it set before you cap the shells. It also takes additions well: fold in feuilletine or chopped caramelised nuts for texture, or loosen it with a little melted chocolate for a softer filling.

Troubleshooting 

Store between 15 and 18C at around 60% relative humidity, out of direct light. Do not refrigerate a finished cut bar, as condensation will dull the chocolate and can bloom it. If the paste has been held cool and feels short or crumbly, warm it slowly and stir it back to a smooth gloss rather than adding fat to it.

Pairings and Ideas 

Roasted hazelnut works with milk and dark chocolate, coffee, salted caramel, orange, pear, fig, rum and honey. A few ideas to try:

• Cut praline bars, enrobed in dark chocolate and topped with a caramelised hazelnut
• A sliced praline layer through a chocolate and hazelnut entremet
• Batons rolled, set and cut for a petit four selection
• A firm base layer under a salted caramel in a moulded bonbon
• Layered with feuilletine for a crunch and melt contrast
• Cut squares dipped in milk chocolate and dusted with cocoa
• Spread and set under a hazelnut and pear tart