Joe’s Chocolate Recipes

METHOD:

If the nuts are not already skinned, you may want to do so yourself. The technique for almonds is as follows: Pour boiling water over them and leave them to steep for a minute or so and then squeeze them while still warm – they should just pop right out of their skins. If not, then repeat the steeping process and try again. By contrast, hazelnuts skin best after heating for about 10 minutes at 160°C (or 140°C in a fan oven) when the skins are dry and crackly – rub the nuts over the rough surface of a colander to remove the skin, which should fall through the holes in the colander.

Once skinned, chop the nuts roughly, or blitz in a food processor for a few seconds to get even sized small pieces. Place the nuts on a baking sheet and roast at 180ºC (lower if you have a fan oven, I find about 150-160°C works best for me) for 6-10 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Stir occasionally so they colour evenly.

While the nuts are roasting, lightly oil another baking sheet. Have a pan or bowl of cool water standing near the stove to dip the base of the pan in once the sugar syrup has been caramelised.

In a heavy based saucepan, heat the sugar and water over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, shaking the pan occasionally to dissolve the crystals. DO NOT stir the mixture at any point until you add the nuts. Increase the heat and bring to the boil, until it is a golden brown colour (if you have a sugar thermometer, it should read 160-177ºC (320-350ºF)). Place the base of the pan immediately in the cool water to stop the caramel continuing to cook, then quickly mix in the nuts before it starts to cool, and pour onto the oiled baking sheet and leave to cool. To make a stronger flavoured praline, before pouring onto the baking sheet, return the sugar caramel and nuts to the heat for another two minutes, stirring well. By the way, I find that this tends to be a bit tricky to do without burning the mixture, and the mixture then has an even greater annoying tendency to stick to the pan and the spoon and everything else. You have been warned !

When it is completely cool, chop into small pieces, and process in a food processor. Note: I find that some food processors aren’t really “man” enough for the job, but this can be worked around if you have a little patience – simply sieve the processed nuts into a bowl to remove the very fine powder, and return the remainder to the food processor for another go. Any residue that won’t reduce to a fine powder can be kept to decorate the tops of cakes or desserts, or added to homemade sweets for some texture.

The completed praline must be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge, and used within a couple of weeks.

Makes about 125g crushed praline (4oz).

Tip: cleaning pans you’ve made caramel or sugar syrups in can be tricky unless you follow this simple tip – after removing the syrup from the pan, fill the pan with hot water, put the sticky utensils in the pan, and bring to simmering point for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. This dissolves off the remains of the sugar syrup, making the washing up a doddle.

RECIPE VARIATIONS:

Praline clusters: Make praline as above, but once nuts have been mixed in with sugar syrup, instead of cooling and then pulverising, use two teaspoons to shape the praline into little clusters and place on prepared baking sheet. Makes about 10 one-inch round clusters – so you may want to double up the quantities if you want to make a large batch.

For a basic praline ganache, see my recipe for praline truffles.