Who doesn't like Nougat??!! Found this recipe on Facebook and it's AMAZING
Ingredients:
1 cup of honey
3 cups of sugar
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 cups toasted almonds/pistachios/hazelnuts/cherries or ANYTHING you want
A few sheets of edible rice paper (also known as wafer paper)
You will also need:
A 23cm x 23cm square pan
A heavy saucepan (if your pan is too thin the syrup might burn)
A candy thermometer
An electric mixer
A sharp knife
And here is our method:
1. Grease the pan with butter, or spray it with non-stick spray.
2. Line the bottom of the pan with the edible paper.
TIP: If you have to piece
the paper together, try and make sure that there are no overlapping pieces,
since they will make the cutting at the end a bit trickier.
3. Set aside the egg whites in the
bowl of the stand mixer.
TIP: Make sure the whisk and
bowl are completely grease free. You can make sure this is the case by wiping
them with a bit of lemon juice before you start.
4. In your sauce pan, combine the
honey and the sugar. Cook over a low heat and stir until the sugar has
dissolved.
5. Raise the heat to medium, and place the thermometer in the sauce pan. Without stirring, continue to cook until the mixture reaches 158°C. At this point,
immediately remove the mixture from the heat and leave it to cool for a minute
or two.
6. While the sugar syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites into stiff peaks. Then
add the icing sugar and beat until they are combined.
7. When the sugar syrup has cooled to about 145°C, slowly pour it into the egg
white mixture, while the mixer is running. The mixture will increase in volume
and look caramel coloured, but no need to panic, this is normal.
8. Continue beating the mixture until it begins to thicken. (It needs to be thick,
but not too thick to mix in the nuts and scrape into the pan).
9. Now fold in the nuts, and pour the nougat into the pan.
TIP: You may need a friend
to hold the mixing bowl for you, as the mixture should be quite thick by now
and VERY sticky.
10. Smooth out the top of the nougat,
and cover it with rice paper.
11. Let it set at room temperature for about 12 hours.
12. Once it has set, you can loosen
the sides and tip the whole block out of the pan.
13. Now it is ready to be cut! Make sure you have a big sharp knife to make cutting
easier, although it doesn’t really matter whether you cut it to perfection or
not, it will still taste delicious.
If you keep the nougat for more
than a day, I would suggest wrapping the pieces in cellophane, as they absorb
moisture and become sticky very quickly.
And that’s how you make nougat.
Pretty straightforward, don’t you think? Enjoy!
