The world of desserts is so complex, that with every new trick I learn I feel my creativity is expanding. The more I know, the more I can combine, mix, fuse and eventual create my own concept of flavor, aroma and appearance. It can also be frustrating sometimes, so much to learn and so little time. This Praline paste or crumb is for me a great addition to my arsenal since it’s so versatile and can be used in many ways.
Praline is a a French confection consisting of a caramel-covered almonds or
I use praline in chocolates, tarts, cakes, buttercream, macarons, on ice cream, for decoration – the possibilities are endless.
The praline keeps for ever in both ground and paste form and is always handy to have in the kitchen.
How to make it
In this example, I will demonstrate making hazelnut praline, but you can easily replace wit any other nut. Start by spreading your hazelnuts on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper.
Roasting the hazenuts is done in a pre-heated oven on 170°C (340°F) for about 15 minutes (move them around every 5 minutes to roast them equally on all sides). My hazelnut are already skinless, but if you get ones with skin, transfer them into a towel after roasting and cover for 10 minutes to let the steam work it’s magic. then rub them around in the towel and the skin will be easily removed.
Heat sugar in a pot of medium heat
It will start to crystallize and that’s fine, you can stir it around a bit but be careful, this get’s extremely hot. We are looking to get a dark amber color and for it to reach about 120°C (250°F)
Not ready yet…
Ready!
Once you reach this color, pour in your nuts (carefully!), and preferably while they are still warm to avoid a big temperature change
Stir them around quickly so all nuts are covered, and remove them to a slightly greased plate
Allow this to cool completely in room temperature, it can take about an hour. When cooled, cut into chunks using a large knife
Place these into your food processor and start processing
At first you’ll get fragrant ground candied nuts, I always remove part of it as this point and keep for decoration or in special recipes where I combine this with chocolate or ice cream
Stop here or…
Continue to process for praline paste. At first the nuts will release their oils and it will become chunky. Continue processing
Process until you receive a fine paste, you can add a tablespoon or two of nut or vegetable oil for a more fluid consistency. For chocolate praline paste, add 1 cup of dark chocolate and blitz in the food processor for a few minutes longer.
Store in jars and keep at room temperature. Stir the paste every week or so to prevent the oils from separating.
- 450g/ 15.9oz (3 cups) hazelnuts (or any other nut)
- 300g/10.6 oz (1½ cups) sugar
- 1 Tsp hazelnut oil (or vegetable oil)
- Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F)
- Spread your hazelnuts on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes (move them around every 5 minutes to roast them equally on all sides).
- If your hazelnuts have skins on them, transfer them into a towel after roasting and cover for 10 minutes to let the steam release the skin from the nut. Then rub them around in the towel and the skin will be easily removed.
- While the nuts are still warm, melt the sugar in a medium pan until completely melted and a dark amber color appears. If you have a candy thermometer check for it to reach about 120°C (250°F)
- Remove from heat immediately and pour in the nuts. Stir to cover all the nuts with the melted sugar and remove to silpat or a well oiled plate. Allow to cool completely.
- Break the hardened sugar and nuts and place into a food processor
- Blitz until nicely ground. You can stop here for praline crumb, store in an airtight container.
- For praline paste, continue blitzing until oil is released from the nuts and the paste starts to come together. Add 1 tsp oil and blitz until it all comes together. Add more oil for a more liquefied consistency. Store in an airtight container and stir once a week to mix the oils with the nuts.
- For chocolate praline paste, add 1 cup of dark chocolate and blitz in the food processor for a few minutes longer.
the espresso carmel is great. May I suggest for the sable, simply pour the warm ganache over the sable while still in the mold, let set in the ref till set.The yolks can go into the cream as well. Keep up the great work you are doing Pastry chef Daniel Mooney..Ventura Ca
Those are great suggestions, Chef! Thank you so much for taking the time to share them 🙂
Hello, thanks for this. When I have done the paste version of this, I struggle as it remains crunchy, and I believe that it is the sugar recrystallizing that causes the unwanted crunch. Have you any tips for this please? Thanks in advance
Hi David, interesting.. do you use a candy thermometer? The sugar is meant to harden up, are you blitzing long enough? Is your food processor strong?
Thanks so much for the reply. I only just found you had replied in my junk folder.
I do use a thermometer normally, it’s a digital prong one rather than an old fashioned candy styled one.
I definitely blitz long enough, as the paste goes extremely runny and smooth. It’s only when it has set for a while that the recrystallization happens and the crunch comes back.