Almond Praline Brittle Recipes

ALMOND PRALINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds on a baking sheet, and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.
• Butter a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet. Spread toasted almonds in an even layer on pan. Place sugar and water in a medium saucepan; stir to combine. Place over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, brushing down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystals from forming. Once sugar is dissolved, cook without stirring until sugar is deep amber. Add lemon juice; immediately pour over almonds, coating with a thin layer. If caramel doesn't cover all the nuts, tilt pan slightly to distribute, or stir in nuts with a wooden spoon, being careful not to touch caramel or hot pan. Cool completely. Gently twist pan to release praline. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

ALMOND BRITTLE

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat; add almonds, sugar, and syrup. Cook and stir the almonds until the mixture turns caramel in color, about 6 minutes.
• Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in a thin layer. Cool until the mixture hardens and break into pieces to serve.

ALMOND PRALINE BRITTLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds on a baking sheet in a single layer, and toast in oven until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Lightly oil a baking pan; transfer toasted nuts to coated pan, and set aside.
• Place sugar in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup water; stir, and then place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, without stirring. Occasionally brush down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent any stray granules of sugar from crystallizing. When sugar begins to brown, swirl pan, and cook until a rich amber color. Pour over nuts in baking pan. Allow to cool completely. Twist ends of pan to loosen praline, and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

SPICED ALMOND BRITTLE

Steps:

• Line a 15x10x1-in. pan with parchment. (Do not spray or grease.), In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, water, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Using a pastry brush dipped in water, wash down the sides of the pan to eliminate sugar crystals. Cook, without stirring, over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 260° (hard-ball stage). , Stir in almonds, butter and seasonings; cook until thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage), stirring frequently, about 8 minutes longer., Remove from heat; stir in baking soda. (Mixture will foam.) Immediately pour onto prepared pan, spreading as thin as possible. Cool completely., Break brittle into pieces. Store between layers of waxed paper in airtight containers.

EASY BUTTERSCOTCH-ALMOND PRALINES

Steps:

• Line cookie sheet with foil. In 2-quart saucepan, stir all ingredients except boiling water with wooden spoon. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until boiling rapidly. Boil and stir 3 minutes. Place boiling water in measuring cup. Remove candy from heat and continue stirring vigorously 4 to 5 minutes or until thick but still shiny.
• Working quickly, drop praline mixture by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet, flattening into patty shape with back of wooden spoon if needed. If mixture stiffens too much to drop from a spoon, quickly stir in hot water, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, until smooth. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store in tightly covered container.

SALTED ALMOND BRITTLE

Steps:

• Lightly butter a lipped baking tray and spread the almonds over it in a thin, even layer. Put the sugar, butter, salt and 4 tbsp water into a smooth-bottomed frying pan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil for about 5 mins, or until it starts to turn light golden brown. Stir every now and again as some patches will start to caramelise faster than others. Carefully tip the caramel over the nuts and leave to cool completely.
• Once cold, shatter the caramel. An easy way to get clean sharp pieces is to put the point of a sharp knife vertically onto the caramel and bash the handle with a rolling pin, like a hammer and chisel. Serve on top of the Chocolate amaretti puddings. Keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container, interleaved with non-stick paper, in a cool, dry place (not the fridge).

ALMOND PRALINE CAKE WITH MASCARPONE FROSTING AND CHOCOLATE BARK

Steps:

• For ganache filling:
• Simmer cream and sugar in medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add chocolate; whisk until smooth. Chill until just spreadable, about 6 hours.
• For almond cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottoms with parchment paper; dust pans with flour. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Using heavy-duty mixer, blend brown sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat in almond paste 1 piece at a time, then beat until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Fold in dry ingredients. Divide batter among pans; smooth tops. Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack.
• For almond praline:
• Line baking sheet with foil. Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until deep amber, swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush occasionally. Mix in nuts. Pour onto foil; cool. Peel foil off praline. Chop praline coarsely. DO AHEAD Praline can be made 1 day ahead; store airtight at room temperature.
• For mascarpone frosting:
• Beat all ingredients in large bowl just to soft peaks (do not overbeat or mixture will curdle).
• Run knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out; peel off paper. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread half of ganache over; sprinkle with 1/4 cup praline. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining ganache over; sprinkle with 1/4 cup praline. Top with third cake layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. DO AHEAD Cake can be made 1 day ahead; cover with cake dome and chill. Store remaining praline airtight at room temperature.
• For chocolate bark:
• Line baking sheet with foil. Melt chocolate in small bowl set over saucepan of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove from over water. Drizzle all but 1 tablespoon chocolate over foil in thick (about 1-inch-wide) zigzag lines (chocolate will pool in spots). Sprinkle 3 tablespoons praline over chocolate; chill bark until firm, about 1 hour.
• Press praline around bottom 2 inches of cake; sprinkle more atop. Peel foil off bark; break into pieces. Press edges into frosting atop cake. Remelt 1 tablespoon chocolate over simmering water, stirring often. Using spoon, drizzle chocolate over cake. DO AHEAD Chill up to 4 hours. Serve cold or at room temperature.

ALMOND AND HAZELNUT PRALINE

Steps:

• Line a plate with wax paper.
• Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add sugar, almonds, and hazelnuts, stirring continuously until almonds and nuts are evenly coated with caramel, about 10 minutes.
• Carefully tip nut-sugar mixture onto the wax paper--mixture will be very hot. Let cool for 5 to 7 minutes.
• Break praline in large pieces and serve as-is or place in a food processor with a blade and chop to desired consistency.

ALMOND BRITTLE

Steps:

• Spread the oil over a baking sheet. Spread almonds evenly over the surface of the sheet. In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, stir the sugar and cream of tartar into the water over low heat until dissolved. When the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat to medium and stop stirring. Bring to a boil and allow temperature, as measured with a candy thermometer, to 300 degrees F (hard crack stage). Immediately pour the syrup over the almonds and allow to cool and harden completely. Break into pieces to serve.