Hazelnut Brittle

Life’s been a whirlwind and I haven’t found a good time to take the butter out to cream. I work from morning to evening. I hardly make an effort to squeeze in my running ‘routine’. Time goes swooshing past as I watch my waistline slowly disappear. Maybe I exaggerate, but the canvas at home did get stolen a couple of hours ago. I think I’m not making sense here, looking at the jarred sentences and words.

Not just the canvas, though. The trolley, a shoe (not a pair, but a shoe), and perhaps others unknown. To get to a point, theft is just a fraction of a really bad 2011.

How bad is bad? Just really bad.

On a higher note, I did make hazelnut brittle ice cream not too long ago. The brittle was simple and delicious, but the ice cream was way too sweet, even for me. Note to self, cut the damn sugar. It’s definitely not my 2012 resolution to reach 7.0 on the sugar scale.

And what’s my new year’s resolution?

To be honest, I haven’t thought of one. We’ll see.

For now, just make some brittle will you? Mix pieces into vanilla or hazelnut ice cream and why would you even need Haagan Dazs in your freezer anymore?

Watch that waistline though. I will, too.

Hazelnut Brittle

adapted from Rosa’s

200g Castor sugar
2 Tbs Runny honey
200g Hazelnuts, roasted

sea salt or fleur de sel

Method:
1. In a thick-bottomed pan, put the sugar first, then the honey and the nuts (without mixing).
2. Cook, at medium heat.
3. After a few minutes, when the sugar will have partially melted, mix well in order to coat the nuts. Repeat this operation until the sugar has melted completely.
4. Then stop stirring, until the sugar has turned to caramel (light brown)
5. Pour that mixture onto a baking tray covered with baking paper.
6. Spread the mass before it hardens.
7. Sprinkle a little salt all over and let cool.
8. Break into pieces of the desired size.

Remarks:
You can also transform this “Hazelnut Nougatine” into “Praline Powder” or “Praline Paste” (use 50% hazelnuts + 50% almonds). You’ll just have to break it into tiny pieces (with the help of a hammer) and put the broken pieces into a blender and grind them to a thin powder (“Praline”) or, if you continue a little longer, to a thick, viscuous and homogenous paste (“Praline Paste”).

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