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Regional, seasonal food with original recipes by Susan S. Bradley

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Home/Desserts/Toasted Hazelnut, Honey & Garam Masala Brittle

Toasted Hazelnut, Honey & Garam Masala Brittle

Toasted Hazelnut, Honey & Garam Masala Brittle | LunaCafe

Toasted Hazelnut, Honey & Garam Masala Brittle

This buttery nut brittle is unlike any I have ever experienced. The flavor of wildflower honey almost supersedes that of toasted hazelnuts, but not quite. The taste buds dance from one flavor to the other and back again, helped along by a generous dose of sea salt, both in and on top of the brittle. The gentle yet pervasive background flavors of vanilla and exotic spices will keep you and everyone else coming back for more.

This brittle is great on its own but also as a garnish for any creamy dessert, such as a mousse, panna cotta, ice cream, pudding, crème caramel, or pot de crème. You can serve it in pieces alongside a dessert or pulverize in the processor and sprinkle it on top.

2 cups toasted, skinned hazelnuts, hit lightly with a mallet to break in half (10 ounces)
1½ cups large flake, unsweetened coconut

1-1½ teaspoons baking soda (I used 1 teaspoon but will try 1½ teaspoons on the next test)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2-3 teaspoons LunaCafe Garam Masala (I used 3 teaspoons)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups sugar
½ cup wildflower honey
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup cold water

Topping
sea salt in a grinder

  1. Coat a large (12- by 17-inch), edged baking sheet with vegetable spray. Reserve.
  2. Combine the baking soda, salt, and LunaCafe Garam Masala in a small bowl and set next to the stove, along with the open bottle of vanilla and a set of measuring spoons.
  3. In a large (3 quart) saucepan, combine the sugar, honey, butter, and water. Slowly bring to a simmer, stirring to help dissolve the sugar. Wash down the sides of the pan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in cold water to prevent sugar crystals from forming.
  4. When the mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring, wash down the sides of the pan once more, and let simmer undisturbed until an instant-read thermometer registers 300° (hard crack stage). Depending on the heat of the burner, the time this takes will vary. Using high heat, it took 15 minutes in my tests. The mixture will go from pale gold to rich golden amber.
  5. Turn off the heat and immediate add the vanilla, being careful to stand back as you introduce the room temperature liquid into the very hot caramel. Stir with a silicon spatula to distribute the vanilla evenly. Then add the baking soda/salt/spice mixture, and again be cautious as this addition causes the caramel to foam furiously. When the foam subsides somewhat, stir with a silicon spatula to evenly distribute the baking soda mixture. You will notice that the texture of the mixture changes dramatically and appears a few shades lighter in color as well.
  6. Pour the hot caramel over the nut mixture in the baking pan and work quickly with a silicon spatula or oil-coated wooden spatula to coat all of the nuts with the hot caramel. Grind sea salt lightly over the brittle.
  7. Spread the brittle out as thinly as you can with an oiled wooden spatula. You will need to exert real pressure. When the brittle is still warm, yet cool enough to touch, you can pull on it from all sides to thin it even more.
  8. When the brittle is completely cool, break it into pieces with a mallet. Store in an airtight container in layers separated with foil or wax paper.

Makes one 12- by 17-inch slab of brittle.

Copyright 2009-2015  Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.

Pages: Page 1 Page 2

Written by:
Susan S. Bradley
Published on:
December 18, 2015

Categories: Desserts, Hazelnuts, WalnutsTags: brittle, candy, caramel, dessert, garam masala, hazelnut brittle, honey, nut brittle, praline, toffee

About Susan S. Bradley

Intrepid cook, food writer, culinary instructor, creator of the LunaCafe blog, author of Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, and former director of the Northwest Culinary Academy.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sophia

    October 2, 2013 at 6:22 am

    This sounds wonderful! I am always on the lookout for interesting recipes that use somewhat unusual ingredients (or combine known ingredients in unusual ways) and this fits the bill! I just made a yeasted couronne filled with melted butter, sugar and a mix of fennel, cardamom and garam masala and the flavour is so wonderful I am keen to experiment with garam masala more (and that’s how I came across your page).

    I hate it as well when people start calling things a certain way without realizing it is a term of art – I had also always understood a brittle to be caramelised sugar, studded with nuts, and lightened by baking soda, that chocolate recipe you found is really just chocolate bark, right?

  2. sms bradley

    January 5, 2010 at 9:31 pm

    LOL, thank you, Alta!I would send you some, but MauiJim ate it all. 🙂

  3. sms bradley

    January 5, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    Thanks so much, Kathleen! 🙂

  4. sms bradley

    January 5, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    Thank you Sophie! 🙂

  5. sms bradley

    January 5, 2010 at 9:27 pm

    Thanks Nate! I always try to push culinary boundaries with interesting flavor combinations. I adore garam Masala and use my own blend in a number of dishes. It occurred to me several weeks ago to put Garam Masala into one of the Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies recipes. I LOVE that cookie! Adding it to carmelized sugar was an easy leap. The brittle is completely addictive. 🙂

  6. Nate

    January 5, 2010 at 8:47 am

    I love hazelnuts! This is a really neat recipe. How did you come up with the idea of using a garam masala? I might have just used cracked black pepper.
    .-= Nate @ House of Annie´s last blog ..Rambutans, plus a Grow Your Own Announcement =-.

  7. Sophie

    January 1, 2010 at 1:36 am

    Waw!!!! This brittle looks apart & must taste awesome with the garam masala!! What a twist!!!

    Excellent as food gifts as well!
    .-= Sophie´s last blog ..Chicken with a cranberry, port & orange sauce, served with sugared braised Belgian endives =-.

  8. Kathleen

    December 30, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    Oh my! This sounds like an amazing combo!
    .-= Kathleen´s last blog ..Lindsey’s Sweet Potatoes =-.

  9. Alta (Tasty Eats At Home)

    December 30, 2009 at 5:02 am

    OMG. Please, please, please, can some of this arrive at my doorstep? Like, now? It sounds simply divine. I am definitely going to make this. I’m only sad it won’t be in time for NYE – because what an amazing little treat!

Trackbacks

  1. Smokin' Hot Cajun Spice says:
    November 23, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    […] Coat fish filets with Smokin’ Hot Cajun Spice and sauté in melted butter or olive oil. 10. Make Toasted Hazelnut, Honey & Garam Masala Brittle, substituting Smokin’ Hot Cajun Spice for Garam Masala and pecans for […]

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Susan S. Bradley

Intrepid cook, food writer, culinary instructor, creator of the LunaCafe blog, author of Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, and former director of the Northwest Culinary Academy. Read More…

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