Candyman
This past week I took a wonderful class by David Lebovitz (of international acclaim!) at Central Market. He is such a good teacher. He's entertaining, and full of information, and made us all instantly at home. Plus, I have never seen so many recipes made in such a short time. Thank you David, I learned so much about chocolate, candy, and Paris.
A Sunday afternoon found me itching to do something. Too early to start dinner, too hot to finish planting my annuals, so I decided to make one of David's recipes we learned in class. His toffee with chocolate and nuts was so good (the small piece I had) and I had bought some really good Callebaut semisweet chips at Central Market so I decided it HAD to be the one. My husband would thank me, I was sure. And it turned out so fast! The slowest part of the whole recipe I think was toasting the almonds.
I'd never made candy before, mainly because molten sugar at 300 degrees scares me. That and I had never bought a candy thermometer. But the way David whipped it up with no fear emboldened me to try it.
Step 1 is to toast your nuts (here almonds) for 5-10 minutes until fragrant. They go from fragrant to burned really fast so watch out.
While doing that you can get your sugar, water, butter, and salt heating in a sturdy saucepan. Your goal is 300 degrees - or "hard crack" stage. The temperature of sugar is referred to as things such as "soft ball", "hard ball", and "hard crack". These represent what the sugar would do if you dropped some of it into cool water. Hard crack means it would seize up and when taken out, make a hard crack when you tried to break it in two.
Here's the butter and sugar mixture bubbling away at about 200 degrees. Those silicone spatulas are great.
Cool your nuts and chop between coarse and fine. Spread half the nuts into an 8x10 rectangle on a buttered pan or on a Silpat, as I did. (that great silicone again).
When the sugar gets up to temperature, remove from heat and add the baking soda and vanilla. Pour the sugar over the nuts, trying to keep the depth even. This stuff will stay warm for a good while, but even so, quickly sprinkle your 1 cup of semisweet chips over the sugar. Good chocolate really makes a difference here.
Let the chips sit for a minute or too. Because the sugar is still so warm, you can take an offset spatula and spread the chips evenly over the sugar. At this stage David encouraged us to sprinkle some fleur de sel on the chocolate - I love salty and sweet so I did and I really loved the outcome.
Add the second half of the nuts on top of the chocolate and gently press them into the chocolate.
Let cool in the refrigerator until hardened. The sugar will harden much sooner than the chocolate. In my fridge it took about half an hour to cool completely. Break into chunks. Yummy!
Chocolate Toffee, adapted from David Lebovitz
2 cups toasted almonds, hazelnuts, pecans chopped between 'fine' and 'coarse'
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
big pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
Lightly oil a baking sheet wiht an unflavored vegetable oil - or place a Silpat or other silicone liner on a baking sheet.
Sprinkle half the nuts into a roughly 8" x 10" rectangle on the baking sheet.
In a sturdy medium saucepan heat the water, butter, salt, and both sugar. Use a candy thermometer and cook, stirring as little as possible until the thermometer reads 300 degrees.
Immediately remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.
Pour the mixture over the nuts on the sheet. Try to pour in an even layer. You may spread with a spatula, but don't overwork it.
Sprinkle the chips over the top and let stand for 1-2 minutes then spread in an even layer over the sugar. Sprinkle with fleur de sel if so desired. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the chocolate and gently press them in with your hands.
Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days.
A Sunday afternoon found me itching to do something. Too early to start dinner, too hot to finish planting my annuals, so I decided to make one of David's recipes we learned in class. His toffee with chocolate and nuts was so good (the small piece I had) and I had bought some really good Callebaut semisweet chips at Central Market so I decided it HAD to be the one. My husband would thank me, I was sure. And it turned out so fast! The slowest part of the whole recipe I think was toasting the almonds.
I'd never made candy before, mainly because molten sugar at 300 degrees scares me. That and I had never bought a candy thermometer. But the way David whipped it up with no fear emboldened me to try it.
Step 1 is to toast your nuts (here almonds) for 5-10 minutes until fragrant. They go from fragrant to burned really fast so watch out.
While doing that you can get your sugar, water, butter, and salt heating in a sturdy saucepan. Your goal is 300 degrees - or "hard crack" stage. The temperature of sugar is referred to as things such as "soft ball", "hard ball", and "hard crack". These represent what the sugar would do if you dropped some of it into cool water. Hard crack means it would seize up and when taken out, make a hard crack when you tried to break it in two.
Here's the butter and sugar mixture bubbling away at about 200 degrees. Those silicone spatulas are great.
Cool your nuts and chop between coarse and fine. Spread half the nuts into an 8x10 rectangle on a buttered pan or on a Silpat, as I did. (that great silicone again).
When the sugar gets up to temperature, remove from heat and add the baking soda and vanilla. Pour the sugar over the nuts, trying to keep the depth even. This stuff will stay warm for a good while, but even so, quickly sprinkle your 1 cup of semisweet chips over the sugar. Good chocolate really makes a difference here.
Let the chips sit for a minute or too. Because the sugar is still so warm, you can take an offset spatula and spread the chips evenly over the sugar. At this stage David encouraged us to sprinkle some fleur de sel on the chocolate - I love salty and sweet so I did and I really loved the outcome.
Add the second half of the nuts on top of the chocolate and gently press them into the chocolate.
Let cool in the refrigerator until hardened. The sugar will harden much sooner than the chocolate. In my fridge it took about half an hour to cool completely. Break into chunks. Yummy!
Chocolate Toffee, adapted from David Lebovitz
2 cups toasted almonds, hazelnuts, pecans chopped between 'fine' and 'coarse'
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
big pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
Lightly oil a baking sheet wiht an unflavored vegetable oil - or place a Silpat or other silicone liner on a baking sheet.
Sprinkle half the nuts into a roughly 8" x 10" rectangle on the baking sheet.
In a sturdy medium saucepan heat the water, butter, salt, and both sugar. Use a candy thermometer and cook, stirring as little as possible until the thermometer reads 300 degrees.
Immediately remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.
Pour the mixture over the nuts on the sheet. Try to pour in an even layer. You may spread with a spatula, but don't overwork it.
Sprinkle the chips over the top and let stand for 1-2 minutes then spread in an even layer over the sugar. Sprinkle with fleur de sel if so desired. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the chocolate and gently press them in with your hands.
Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days.
posted by suburban housefrau at 8:04 AM
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