Happy December 16th. Today’s Christmas recipe is French nougat with almonds and green pistachio nuts. French nougat is a sweet white nougat with a chewy texture. Use whatever nuts you like in the nougat. Walnuts or unsalted peanuts are good. I love French nougat and so does my grandmother. I’m going to give her a few pieces of French nougat wrapped nicely in cellophane. It’s the perfect hostess gift. Enjoy!
Ingredients
French nougat (makes 20-24 pieces)
350 g sugar
100 g honey
150 ml glucose syrup
100 water
2 egg whites, chilled
200 g mixed nuts, e.g., pistachio nuts and almonds, roughly chopped
Confectioner’s sugar
Approach
French nougat
Put the sugar, honey, glucose syrup and water in a pan and boil it up to 150 C, stirring every so often.
Just before the sugar mixture reaches 150 C, whisk the egg whites until white and foamy. Then add the hot sugar mixture in a thin stream while whisking. Beat the mixture until it’s thick and glossy for (about 10 minutes). Add the chopped nuts and fold them into the mixture.
Line a 21 x 21 cm form with baking paper and sprinkle with some confectioner’s sugar. Spread the mixture in the form. It’s very sticky, so put some confectioner’s sugar on your fingers and the spatula to make it much easier to work with. Allow the nougat to cool at room temperature until the next day.
Cut the French nougat into appropriate sizes and wrap them in, e.g., cellophane so they don’t stick together. Store them at room temperature. Bon appetite!
