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Caramelized Nuts
All Jacques Torres desserts courtesy Dessert
Circus: Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make Everyday
William Morrow & Company Inc. Publishers 1998
Yield: 5 1/2 cups
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 3 1/2 cups whole unblanched almonds
- 21 ounces bittersweet chocolate, tempered
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar or unsweetened Dutch-processed
cocoa powder
Place the granulated sugar and water in a large copper
pot or 4-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring the mixture
to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the almonds and stir
to coat them evenly in the sugar syrup. Your goal is to
cook the almonds until the sugar crystallizes and caramelizes
- when water is added, the sugar crystals dissolve. As
the syrup boils, it becomes thicker as the water evaporates
and big soaplike bubbles begin to form. Soon, all the
moisture evaporates and the mixture becomes sandy. The
sandiness is the sugar recrystallizing. It only takes
the reformation of one sugar crystal to recrystallize
the others. Keep stirring! Next, you will see the sugar
close to the heat change from sandy to a clear liquid.
The melted sugar clings to the almonds. When the sugar
changes from clear to golden brown, the nuts are caramelized.
Once this happens, pay close attention; the time it takes
to pass from caramelized to burned is only a matter of
seconds, especially when making smaller batches. You know
the nuts are finished when most of the sandy sugar is
gone. The first few times you make these, I suggest you
try the following: When the sugar closest to the heat
changes from sandy to liquid, remove the pan from the
burner and continue to stir. The residual heat in the
sugar and nuts will continue to cook the mixture while
you stir it. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue
to stir the nuts while moving the saucepan on and off
the heat at 10-second intervals. This will give you more
control as it cooks.
When the nuts begin to caramelize, remove them from the
heat and finish stirring. Use a wooden spoon to spread
the caramelized nuts onto a parchment paper-covered baking
sheet. Do not touch the nuts as they are extremely hot.
Let the nuts cool completely. If your freezer will accommodate
the baking sheet, you can place the nuts in the freezer
for about 30 minutes to speed up the cooling process.
When the nuts are completely cooled, break apart any clusters
that may have formed. At this stage, you can choose to
serve the nuts as they are.
If you choose to coat the nuts in chocolate, place the
cooled nuts in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add one-third
of the tempered chocolate and immediately fold the nuts
until they are thoroughly coated and the chocolate has
set. If you do not fold immediately, the chocolate will
set and the nuts will stick together. Add another third
of the chocolate and fold thoroughly until set. Add the
remaining third and fold thoroughly, being sure all the
nuts are well-coated. Separate any clusters of nuts that
have formed. If you plan to serve the nuts as they are,
let the chocolate set completely. If you decide to move
onto the next step, do not wait for the chocolate to set
completely. Add the powdered sugar or cocoa powder and
stir until all of the nuts are well coated. If you'd like
to coat half of the nuts in powdered sugar and the other
half in cocoa powder, you can use the same bowl if you
start with the powdered sugar. Before serving, place the
nuts in a sieve to remove any excess sugar or cocoa powder.
The nuts will keep in an airtight container at room temperature
for up to two weeks.
Tempering chocolate:
Tempering is important because it determines the final
gloss, hardness, and contraction of chocolate. When you
melt chocolate, the molecules of fat separate. In order
to put them back together, you must temper it. There are
a variety of ways to do it, but the result is always the
same. Chocolate is tempered when its temperature is between
84°F and 88°F. One of the easiest ways to temper
it is to place it in the microwave for thirty seconds
at a time on high power until the chocolate is melted.
Be very careful not to overheat it: The chocolate may
not look as if it has completely melted, because it retains
its shape. The chocolate should be only slightly warmer
than the bottom lip. You may still see lumps in it once
you've stirred it, but don't worry; the residual heat
of the chocolate will melt them. You can also use an immersion
blender to break up the lumps and start the recrystallization
process. Usually the chocolate begins to set (recrystallize)
along the side of the bowl. As it begins to crystallize,
mix the crystals into the melted chocolate and they will
begin the recrystallization process. I like to use a glass
bowl because it retains the heat and keeps the chocolate
tempered for a long time. Another way to temper chocolate
is a technique called seeding. In this method, tempering
is achieved by adding small pieces of unmelted chocolate
to melted chocolate. The amount of unmelted chocolate
to be added depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate,
but it is usually one fourth of the total amount. I usually
use an immersion blender to mix the two together.
Checking tempering: A simple method of checking
tempering is to apply a small quantity of chocolate to
a piece of paper or to the point of a knife. If the chocolate
has been correctly tempered, it will harden evenly and
show a good gloss within five minutes.
Garrett
Oliver’s Beer Match:
Imperial Stout (Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Samuel
Smith’s Imperial Stout, LeCoq Imperial Stout)
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