The March 2014 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Rebecca of BakeNQuilt. She challenged us to learn to make classic nougat and to make it our own with our choice of flavors and add-ins. I made the chocolate nougat!
When I saw this month’s challenge I was very confused as whether I should take the challenge or not. The first reason was that we don’t have a sweet tooth so making a candy would not be a good choice and secondly going through all these process and making candy was not that easy. I wanted to keep away from the hassle. Finally when the challenge day came closer I thought why not give it a shot? There is nothing to lose and now I can say that I am very happy that I changed my mind.
It was a new experience for me and now I can look for other candy recipes in future. These nougats make a great gift ideas so maybe next time I will add these in my homemade gift list idea.
Nougat is an aerated candy made from sugar, honey, egg whites and nuts. This type of nougat has been around since the 16th century (according to Larousse Gastronomique). The most well-known nougats are the French Montélimar nougat and the Italian Torrone nougat. Montélimar nougat contains at least 30% nuts and includes pistachios as well as almonds. Italian Torrone and Spanish Turrón are similar, typically containing almonds and sometimes other nuts. The cooking temperature and the quantity of sugar determines the texture of the finished product. Nougat can be chewy, soft and tender to hard and brittle.
The flavors, textures and add-ins may vary, but the process of making nougat is fairly standard. Traditionally, nougat is made by adding cooked honey syrup to egg whites that have been whipped. Nuts are usually folded in and occasionally dried or candied fruits or citrus zest are added. The mixture is poured out onto edible wafer paper and smoothed into a block, which is allowed to set before cutting. Nougat is most commonly white, but can also be flavored. To really dress it up, it can be dipped in chocolate.
As I said above making any kind of candy is not very easy. One has to keep some points in mind before making homemade candy and in this case nougat. You have to have some special equipment and the very first that comes in the list is the candy thermometer. It is very important for the syrup to reach the specific temperature that the recipe calls for failing which may change the texture of the nougat. You will have to keep a very close eye on the temperature while the syrup is boiling. The other thing is the parchment paper which comes very handy when you let the nougat mixture to set in the pan since nougat mixture very sticky to handle. It is recommended to use ‘edible wafer paper’ but parchment does the same job. Other things that you need to keep in mind is the weather that plays a role in making nougats. Humidity softens the texture while dry weather makes it hard and brittle. For that you may need to adjust temperature of the syrup to make it accordingly. I live in a place where it is neither too humid nor very dry and the temperature mentioned in the recipe worked fine for me.
If you keep all the above points in mind, making homemade chocolate nougats is fun and you can boast to your family and friends that you can prepare chocolate nougats from scratch and make them feel a bit jealous.
Tips:
Store the chocolate nougats in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks. The texture of the nougat will soften a little after a couple of days.
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CHOCOLATE NOUGAT
- YIELD: 9×9 inch slab
- PREP: 45 mins
- COOK: 30-45 mins
- READY IN: 25 hrs 15 mins
Nougat is an aerated candy made from sugar, honey, egg whites,nuts and sometimes chocolate for extra flavor.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar for the syrup
- 1/2 cup water for the syrup
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup for the syrup
- 3 large eggs for the meringue
- 3/4 cup clover honey for the meringue
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup for the meringue
- 3 ounce 100% chocolate for add-ins
- 7 ounce 72% chocolate for add- ins
- 3/4 cup dry fruits like raisins,apricots or cranberries for add-ins
- 1/2 cup pistachios toasted for add-ins
- 1 1/2 cups almond toasted for add-ins
- 1 1/3 cups hazelnuts toasted for add-ins
INSTRUCTIONS
-
- Spray a 9×9 inch (23×23 cm) baking pan with vegetable spray and line it with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper as well. Set aside.
- Place the toasted nuts in a heat safe bowl and put in a preheated very slow oven at 250°F/121°C/gas mark ½ until needed.
- Combine the sugar and ¼ cup (85 gm) (3 oz) of corn syrup with the water in a 2 quart (2 litres ) saucepan and set it aside. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whip attachment. Do not start to mix yet.
- Combine the honey and 2 tablespoon (40 gm) (1½ oz) of corn syrup in a small saucepan (the honey mixture will foam up and grow to about 3 times the starting size so make sure your pot isn’t so small that it will overflow) on medium-high heat. Attach a candy thermometer. Start beating the egg whites on low speed.
- When the honey reaches 240°F/115°C, raise the speed of the mixer at high and beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, watching the honey mixture until it reaches 248°F/120°C. As soon as the honey reaches 248°F/120°C, put the pan with the sugar mixture on medium-high heat as you remove the honey from the heat.
- While beating the whites on high, slowly stream the hot honey mixture down the inside of the mixing bowl and into the whites. Do not pour it directly on the whites or they may collapse. Keep beating on medium-high speed.
- As the sugar mixture starts to bubble, dip a pastry brush in water and brush the sides to remove any sugar crystals. Alternately, you can put on a lid on the pot for a couple of minutes once it’s bubbling and let steam do the job for you.
- Attach the candy thermometer. When the sugar mixture reaches 310°F/154°C, turn the mixer back up to high and slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites in a slow stream down the inside of the bowl. Do not pour the syrup directly on the whites or they may collapse.
- Once the sugar syrup is incorporated, continue beating for 3-5 minutes until the whites feel warm, not piping hot (if your mixer bowl is metal, the bowl will still be hot even when the whites have cooled some).
- Add both chocolates to the bowl and beat on high until the chocolate is combined. The heat from the egg mixture will melt the chocolate. With a spatula, fold in the dried fruits and warm nuts.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it in an even layer. Let it sit for 24 hours at room temperature, uncovered.
- Invert the nougat onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper. Cut as desired.
- CUISINE: French
I’m glad you decided to join in after all! Your nougat looks really good!
Thank you so much Rebecca for your comment. Really enjoyed the challenge.