Honey nougat recipe.

Pecan, almond and honey nougat

Published on by Teresa Ulyate
 
A few weeks ago I announced that the “I Made It” challenge for October would be nougat. This is something that I have always wanted to try, especially when I see images of perfect slabs of nougat in magazines and recipe books or fresh nougat bars in our local delis. So when Tandy over at Lavender and Lime asked me to host the challenge this month I knew this was my chance to challenge myself to master this classic sweet treat.

Making nougat was not as difficult or time consuming as I thought, although admittedly it is probably not something I would make regularly – rather just for special occasions. I started by referring to my sugar cookery notes from college for some inspiration, did a few tests in the kitchen and through trial and error created this final recipe. I have successfully made nougat a few times using the recipe below and I hope you will also have good results using it too!
You could attempt this recipe without a sugar thermometer, but ideally you should have one to ensure that your sugar syrup boils to the right temperature and you do not end up with toffee-style nougat that won’t set. I had not used my sugar thermometer for a long time and had to dig it out of the cupboard and calibrate it before I started.  (It is probably a good idea to do this if you have not used yours for a while either.) Also, be sure to prepare your tray and have all of your ingredients lined up and ready before you start! Making nougat requires your full attention and I do not advise you to attempt it when you are likely to be distracted. 
 
One of the hardest parts of this challenge (for me) was deciding what flavour to make! There really are no limits to the things you can include. In the end I decided to keep it simple with a classic flavour combination of nuts and honey. I am rather keen to try chocolate nougat too but I will save that for another day.

 

 

PECAN, ALMOND AND HONEY NOUGAT

  • Servings: Makes 20 blocks
  • Print
  • 2 sheets rice paper
  • 2 cups castor sugar
  • ½ cup glucose
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 egg whites, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • 50g butter, cubed and at room temperature
  • 1 cup whole raw almonds
  • 1 cup pecan nuts, roughly chopped

1.) Line a brownie / cake tin with plastic wrap. (I used a 16cmx25cm rectangular tin.) Cut both rice paper sheets to fit the tray. Line the base of the tray with one of the pieces of rice paper and keep the other to one side.

2.) Reserve two tablespoons of castor sugar. Place the remaining castor sugar in a large pot with the glucose, honey and water. Stir over a low heat to dissolve the sugar, then turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush away sugar crystals from the sides of the pot.

3.) While the sugar mixture is boiling place the egg whites in the bowl of a freestanding mixer and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add the two tablespoons of castor sugar that you set aside earlier while whisking continuously. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form. Whisk in the vanilla paste.

4.) Boil the sugar mixture until it reaches 140ºC and is amber in colour. This is also known as “hard crack stage” as the syrup will become brittle and crack easily if dropped into ice water.

5.) Gradually pour the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites while beating continuously, until all of the syrup has been incorporated. Add the butter a few cubes at a time until everything is mixed together.

6.) Working quickly, add the almonds and pecans to the mixture and fold through by hand.

7.) Scrape the mixture into your prepared tin and cover with the other sheet of rice paper. Flatten the top of the paper (I find it help to use a small baking tray pressed onto the top to get a flat, even top). Cover and set aside in a cool, dry place for 8 hours / overnight to set.

8.) Lift the nougat out of the tin and use a sharp knife to cut into bars or blocks. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.


 

 

17 thoughts on “Pecan, almond and honey nougat”

  6. Wow, it really looks awesome, more so than shop bought as it's stashed with nuts which isn't really the case with store bought…sad really as going by the ingredients it doesn't appear to be extremely expensive to make! So thumbs up I have no doubt if you shared it you would be told it's the absolute best!

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  13. Hi there! Your nougat looks absolutely beautiful! I just made Turrón de Alicante and want to try other nougat recipes! One question – I’m in the US and have never used glucose, not sure what would be a good substitute for that? Is is the same or similar to corn syrup? Similar density to honey? If that’s the case, could I substitute the glucose with honey or with a homemade sugar syrup that has a similar density? Thank you so much!! t.

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    1. Hi there! 🙂 Corn syrup should work just fine! Glucose is very thick and sticky – a bit thicker than most runny honey. Would love to hear how it turns out. 😉

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    1. Sounds amazing, yay!! I’m so happy you had success! Thanks for sharing the link, I’ll definitely take a look. Appreciate the feedback. 🙂 x

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