Cherry Pistachio Nougat Recipes

CHERRY-PISTACHIO NOUGAT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly coat baking pan with nonstick spray. Line with plastic wrap, leaving a 1" overhang on all sides. Set aside.
• Spread out pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring once, until just beginning to turn light golden brown in spots, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Coarsely chop and set aside.
• Combine sugar, honey, and 2 tablespoons water in a small deep heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of pan. Increase heat and boil until thermometer registers 252°F, about 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat egg white and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form.
• With mixer running, gradually stream hot syrup into egg whites. Beat until meringue is thick, has tripled in volume, and has cooled slightly, 10-12 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add cherries and pistachios to meringue; mix nougat with a rubber spatula to distribute evenly.
• Place one 8x8" sheet of rice paper (or 8x8" sheet of parchment paper sprayed with nonstick spray) in the prepared pan. Transfer nougat to pan, spreading in an even layer. Top with second sheet of rice paper (or 8x8" sheet of parchment paper sprayed with nonstick spray). Using an offset spatula, press the nougat into an even layer. Let stand at room temperature until set, about 2 hours.
• Using overhang from plastic wrap, lift nougat out of pan and transfer to a work surface; discard plastic. Run a large sharp knife under hot tap water; wipe dry. Cut nougat crosswise into 4 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 10 pieces, occasionally reheating knife under hot water and wiping dry. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

PISTACHIO-CHERRY NOUGAT BITES

Steps:

• Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, letting foil extend over edges of pan by 2 inches. Spray with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, honey, and 3⁄4 cup water. Cook over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 260°. While sugar mixture cooks, in a large bowl, beat egg whites and reserved vanilla bean seeds at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. When sugar mixture reaches 260°, remove from heat. With mixer on low speed, carefully and gradually add sugar mixture to egg whites. Add extracts. Increase speed to medium-high; beat 12 minutes. Add pistachios and cherries. Beat 3 minutes. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Top with almonds, pressing gently. Let stand 8 hours. Lifting edges of foil, remove mixture from pan. Cut into 2-inch squares. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.

CHERRY, PISTACHIO & COCONUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9 in/24cm diameter ring cake tin with butter.
• Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour over the melted butter and mix in the eggs. Spoon the batter into the pre-greased tin and smooth down.
• Remove the pits from the cherries-you can do this with a cherry pitter or by just pulling them apart and popping the pits out with your fingers. I like to do this over the cake tin, so that any juice drips onto the cake and adds color. Drop the pitted cherries onto the batter and sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp/20g of sugar and the roughly chopped pistachios. Bake in the center of the oven for 25-30 minutes, then turn the cake around and bake for a further 8-10 minutes, until the cake between the cherries goes all golden.
• Allow the cake to cool in the tin, as it needs time to settle, then gently remove by running a knife around the edges. Covered well, it will keep in the fridge for up to a week (not much chance of that happening), but for the best flavor, allow it to return to room temperature before eating.

EASY PISTACHIO-CRANBERRY NOUGAT

Steps:

• Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray; line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Spray parchment and dust with milk powder. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add marshmallows and cook, stirring, until melted, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in milk powder, then cranberries and pistachios. Transfer to prepared pan, pressing or spreading to evenly fill. Lightly dust top with more milk powder. Let stand until set, at least 2 hours.
• Use overhangs to lift nougat out of pan. Cut as desired (we made strips slightly less than 1/2 inch wide, then cut them in half again to create about 4-by-3/4-by 1/2-inch pieces). Store between layers of parchment or waxed paper at room temperature in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.