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Perfect Praline




Source of Recipe


Perfect Pasty by N. Malgieri


Recipe Introduction


Yields 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces)

Pralines, derived from the French praline candy, are particularly popular in New Orleans. Early Creoles began using pecans as the nuts, instead of the almonds or hazelnuts used in the French candy. They're cooked to a soft-ball stage like a brown sugar fudge, but filled with pecans and spooned onto wax paper to form patties. It can be eaten as is or ground and used for dusting truffles. It is sometimes used when making Nougatine. It can also be ground to a paste.


List of Ingredients





1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1-1/4 cups toasted, sliced almonds or blanched crushed hazelnuts, or a combination, about 4 to 5 ounces

Butter for the pan




Recipe



Prepare the Caramel: Combine the sugar and lemon juice in a 2-quart saucepan and mix well with a wooden spoon. Place over medium heat to begin melting the sugar. Stir occasionally with the spoon so the sugar melts and caramelizes evenly. Cook to a light amber color.

Remove the caramel from the heat, add the nuts all at once, stir well and pour on a buttered pan. Use a spoon to scrape all the praline from the saucepan and spread it about 1/4-inch thick on the pan. Cool at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Using a spatula, loosen and turn over the praline and allow to cool until hard. (If the praline is not loosened, it may stick despite the butter on the pan. Break the hard praline into 1-1/2 inch pieces.

Grind into Powder: Place praline pieces in a bowl of a food processor and quickly pulse. Coarsely grind the praline to use as a decoration, more finely grind if adding to a buttercream or coating truffles with.

Storage: Store in a tightly covered container in a cool, dry place. If the praline stays dry, it will keep for a month.