For making praliné and brésilienne
What is praliné?
Praliné is a paste made out of 50% sugar and 50% nuts. In this case we are going to use hazelnuts resulting in hazelnut praliné. Hazelnut praliné is used as the worlds most favorite filling in bonbons (French: meaning good good). Other word for bonbon is praline (without the acute accent on the e). Not to be confused with praliné.
What is brésilienne?
Brésilienne is chopped chunks of nuts caramelized. Much used in baking as cake decorations. Or for desserts. I use it to make delicious gelato nocciola, hazelnut ice-cream.
For making praliné and brésilienne the we need to roast hazelnuts, make caramel and cover the hazelnuts with the caramel.
Making caramel
Making caramel and caramelizing nuts is something I only do when I will not be disturbed and can work in concentration. Even the phone will be on silent. I have too many burns on my hands to show for how easy it is to burn yourself. Having tried many techniques, this is the one I prefer because:
- I can make as much as I want and increase the amounts
- It is a slow start, helping with the concentration
- Taste of the caramel is great
So I made a video to show you how I do it.
Here is the recipe
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Caramel and caramelized hazelnuts
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 500 grams 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Recipe for caramelizing hazelnuts
Ingredients
- 250 grams sugar
- 250 grams roasted hazelnuts
- 1 dessert spoon of lemon
- pinch of salt (optional)
Instructions
I really recommend to watch the video to see how it works! Be careful not to burn yourself!
Tools needed:
- Heavy bottomed pan
- Heat resistant spatula
- thermometer
- Silpat or baking sheet on a tray
Phase 1: make caramel (see video)
- Start heating your pan on medium heat
- Put 1 dessert spoon of
- Put a thin layer of sugar in the pan
- Wait for the sugar to start melting
- Once the first layer of sugar is melted add a second layer
- Wait for it to melt, helping it a bit along with your spatula
- Keep going until all the sugar is gone and you have a nice caramel
- If you did it right, you will have a lightly colored caramel. You can go on heating it till you (almost) have the color you want. But mind you caramelization will not stop immediately so it will end up darker then you might think!
- During this process use your thermometer to check that you are not going above 160 degrees Celsius.
Phase 2: caramelize the hazelnuts (see video)
- Slowly add the roasted hazelnuts
- Use your spatula to carefully cover the hazelnuts
- Add more hazelnuts, and try to keep the heat constant
- Check with your thermometer you don’t go too high
- Once done, use oven mitt to hold the pan and pour the caramelize hazelnuts on a silpat or baking tray covered with baking paper
- Let cool and divide in chunks
Phase 3: making Brésilienne
- use knife and cutting board to cut the caramelized hazelnuts in small pieces
- put in your food processor and pulse till you have the wanted size
- use a sieve to get rid of the smallest bits. I discard the ‘flour’, as it is not much, but this step will give a cleaner brésilienne
Store in airtight container or jars.
Phase 4: making Praliné
- use knife and cutting board to cut the caramelized hazelnuts in small pieces
- put in your food processor and let it do its work until you get a paste like peanut butter.
Store in airtight containers or jars. It will last for at least 6 month!
Enjoy!
Notes
- Use your thermometer to keep the heat below 175 degrees Celsius. I try to keep it at 160 degrees Celsius or lower, but not lower than 140.
- You cannot just change hazelnuts for something else like almonds or macadamia nuts if you want to make a different praliné. This is because of the fat content of the nuts and it will give a very different result.
- The lemon juice helps with the caramel not sticking so much to the sides of the pan. You only need a little.
- Salt can be added in the grinding phase when you are making the brésilienne or the praliné.
- This will last a long time when stored dry: at least 6 months, so better to make a bit more 🙂
- This is actually easier with bigger volumes.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Ingredients
- Method: Caramlizing
- Cuisine: Belgian
