Nougat
Ingredients
- 2 sheets Rice paper
- 75 g Blanched almonds
- 50 g Macadamia nuts
- 25 g Pistachios (unsalted)
- 100 g Natural glace cherries
- 65 g Soft dried apricots
- 125 g Liquid glucose / clear honey (or 50/50)
- 165 g White caster sugar
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) Water
- 1 (large) Egg white
Accompaniment
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Description
Tasty chewy nougat with chunks of cherries, apricots and toasted nuts. Impressive to say you have made your own, but quite easy to do. Vary the nuts and fruit to your taste.
Method
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1
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Spread the nuts out on a baking tray and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes until they are just starting to colour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Turn the oven off.
Cut two squares of rice paper to fit the base of a 15-16cm (5 cm deep) square tin, and 4 strips to fit the sides. Use one of the squares and the strips to line the tin*.
Rinse the cherries well, then dry them on kitchen towel. Cut them in half and half again and roughly chop the apricots into 6-8 little pieces. Roughly chop the cooled nuts.
Put the liquid glucose / honey, sugar and water in a saucepan over a low heat and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, then keep it bubbling for about 5-6 minutes, until it reaches 122-125 degrees C on a sugar thermometer**.
Meanwhile, but keeping an eye on the pan, whisk the egg white in a stand mixer*** until soft peaks form. When the hot syrup is ready, pour into the egg white in a steady stream while still whisking. Keep whisking and it will turn thick, white (cream-coloured if using honey) and gooey. Whisk for at least another 10 minutes (if you don't whisk for long enough, it may turn soft the day after cutting - but is still delicious! - whisking for longer seems to help).
Turn off the whisk and fold in the chopped fruit and nuts then quickly tip into the tin and smooth out the top as best you can. Place the second square of rice paper on top, smooth again (I find it easier once the rice paper is in place as it quite a stiff, sticky mixture), then leave to set at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
Cut into 5 strips and then into squares.
Chef's Tips
* I use a non-stick loose bottomed tin and have no problems getting the nougat out without greasing but if your tin is not non-stick, and not loose bottomed, it may help to lightly grease the base and sides with a little sunflower or vegetable oil. If you only have a 20 / 23 cm square tin, simply double the quantities.
** If you don't have a thermometer, after 5 minutes, drop a little of the syrup into a glass of cold water - it is ready if a little ball forms and is soft to press, but doesn't disintegrate.
***You can use a hand whisk but it's a bit tricky pouring in the liquid with one hand and whisking with the other - good to have someone to help.
Vary the fruit and nuts - the original recipe was for 100 g almonds and 50 g pistachios, but I like the addition of macadamia. Hazelnuts are also good. Cherries are more traditional in nougat, but dried cranberries also work well.
You can use a flavoured honey, e.g. orange-blossom or lavender, but personally I found this overpowering and prefer to use a mild acacia honey or, even better, liquid glucose.
Most supermarkets sell liquid glucose - e.g. Dr Oetker comes in a tube which is easy to use.
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