Nutella Cigars with Strawberry Crème

What better way to celebrate the month of February, but with strawberries and chocolate. This is a match made in heaven. I saved this recipe to post on Valentine's eve. This is one of my very own creations and I take so much pride in being able to whip up something creative with locally available ingredients. Often, I get fascinated with recipes I see online by authors who live in the west, but eventually, shut down the try because I cant get my hands on most of the ingredients used. Therefore, on several occasions, I have to materialize by curating something new and with ingredients that I can easily source. Josh tries really hard to keep me grounded when we go to the supermarket cause I tend to go overboard and pick up stuff I don’t really need. Then, to escape his wrath I habitually come up with something new with what we picked up on the aisle (just to prove him wrong). One such product is spring roll sheets. The only recipe that immediately comes to mind using these sheets are spring rolls ofcourse and then what? So recently, I tried my hands at a sweet recipe using spring roll sheets and it was an instant hit. So I modified the recipe to include more local and seasonal produce to curate this recipe. Minu, Josh and I loved it. Who can say no to strawberries or Nutella and the best part is, this recipe incorporates both. Spring roll sheets and Nutella are readily available at most supermarket chains and strawberries are now available even in open markets in Chennai. Give it a try this Valentine’s day for your loved ones, mini-me’s and yourself. 

Crispy spring roll sheets stuffed with a generous filling of hazelnut Nutella paired with freshly made strawberry crème.

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Ingredients

• Spring roll sheets – 1 pack (will be using only what's required; save the rest for other recipes)

• Nutella – as required

• Strawberries – 1 box

• Whipping cream – 1 box (I used locally available Amul whipped cream)

• Icing sugar – 1/2 cup

• Sugar – 1 cup

• Oil – for deep frying

• Water – for sealing 

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Method,

Strawberry crème preparation

1. Wash and drain strawberries and remove the stalk and leaves. Cut into pieces and add them into a sauce pan. Turn on the heat and slowly break the pieces to form a sauce. Add in one cup of sugar and keep mixing until it turns like jam. Remove from heat and cool. You can store this in the fridge and use as jam as desired.

2. Place a bowl, hand blender blades or beater (prefereably stainless steel utensils) and whipping cream in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from the freezer and immediately fix the blades to the blender and whip the cream on high speed. Alternately this can also be done with a hand beater but will take longer to form stiff peaks. You will require only half of the cream carton along with half a cup of icing sugar. The cream will stop being runny and form stiff peaks. Cool in the freezer for 10 minutes.

3. Add the strawberry jam to the prepared cream and mix gently to form fruit swirls. Do not overmix.

Nutella cigars preparation

1. Thaw the spring roll sheets before use. If frozen, leave them at room temperature until soft and foldable.

2. Add a spoon full of Nutella as filling and gently wrap the sheets to form rolls. use a drop of water or flour paste to seal the ends. Lookup for spring roll making videos if you’re unsure of how to wrap the sheets.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Once heated, add the rolls and deep fry until golden brown. Remove and drain well on paper towels. Let cool.

Plating

In a dessert glass or bowl add the prepared crème and place the cigars vertically. Use the cigars to scoop and enjoy the delicious crème. Bon appetite!

*Notes

• The consistency of the strawberry jam should not be too firm like jelly or too runny. It should be like a topping sauce so that it is easy to make swirls.

• You can also make your own icing sugar by powdering crystal sugar in a blender.