Hagelslag - Chocolate Sprinkles



Hagelslag is a type of manufactured chocolate nonpareil from The Netherlands. Known as jimmies or chocolate sprinkles in English, these Dutch treats are usually used as a topping on buttered bread for breakfast. The Dutch company Gerard de Vries for Venz  invented hagelslag in 1936, and they soon became popular in Holland, Belgium and France. In The Netherlands only hagelslag with a cacao percentage of more than 35 can be called chocolat hagelslag. If the percentage is under the 35%, it has to be called cacao fantasy hagelslag.

There are many brands of hagelslag, De Ruijter being one of the best known. Because hagelslag is also popular in Indonesia via the Dutch, the easiest place to find a box in North America would be in Asian supermarkets. I bought the Swiss brand Callebaut in Toronto at The Chocolateria on Roncesvalles 

I'm not really a sweet breakfast kind of guy so I created my own dessert :



Toasted Baguette with Hagelslag and Cocoa Rum Brittle

I took a thick slice of baguette spread it with butter, and lightly toasted it in an oven. Then I spread another layer of butter on the toast and covered it with hagelslag. I caramelized some sugar and threw cocoa nibs into it along with a dollop of butter and a shot of rum. After spreading the brittle of a baking sheet, I cracked it into shards and sprinkled it over the bread. I added vanilla whipped cream to make it even more delicious, and gold leaf to make it more ridiculously decadent. Maybe next time I'll add Morello cherry sauce, just to get crazy.

Another Fine Use of Hagelslag by Helga Hagelslag

   
Helga Hagelslag at the market