Peanut Butter Crunch Nougat Candy

The March 2014 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Rebecca of BakeNQuilt. She challenged us to learn to make classic nougat and to make it our own with our choice of flavors and add-ins.

Candy making definitely scares me!  It requires such precision to achieve the desired texture, and an error that results in a complete waste of time isn't out of the realm of possibility.  But I was excited at the idea of making something that resembled the center of a 3 musketeers bar.  You can see on the beaters, it kind of does, doesn't it?  I swirled dark chocolate, krispies and crunchy peanut butter through my nougat, and the flavor was awesome!

For as daunting as the task seemed, this project was not that difficult.  If I didn't have a few little nippers at my heels, I would definitely have covered this nougat with a layer of caramel and glazed little bite sized bars with tempered chocolate.  Let's not, but imagine we did :)  Yum!

Notes:
This project is kind of a big one, though certainly not out of your league as long as you have a candy thermometer and an electric mixer. And it doesn't really take that long to accomplish. It might go smoothest if you have a helper. Especially if you don't own a stand mixer.

Be sure to use a stand mixer with a very large bowl. Or use a hand held electric mixer with a large bowl and a second set of hands. A small or medium bowl won't do.

Also, read the recipe all the way through before starting. Maybe read it twice.

And see here for the original Daring Baker's challenge recipes!

Peanut Butter Crunch Nougat

Recipe Source: Adapted from Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard
Servings: one 10 by 10 inch slab

Ingredients:

For the syrup:
2 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup corn syrup

For the Meringue:
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons corn syrup

Add-ins:
10 ounces unsweetened chocolate, very finely chopped
2 cups rice krispie cereal
2 cups crunchy peanut butter

Directions:

Spray a 10 by 10 inch baking pan with baking spray and line it with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper as well. Set aside.

Place the rice krispies in a heat safe bowl and put in a warm oven at 250°F until needed. Put the peanut butter in a small pan over low heat to gently melt the peanut butter so it is able to be poured.

Combine the sugar, water and ¼ cup of corn syrup in a 2 quart saucepan and set it aside.Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whip attachment but don't start mixing yet.

Combine the honey and 2 tablespoon of corn syrup in a small saucepan on medium-high heat. The honey mixture will foam up and grow to about 3 times the starting size so make sure your pot isn't so small that it will overflow. Attach a candy thermometer.

Begin beating the egg whites on low speed.

When the honey reaches 240°F (watch closely, this doesn't take long), raise the speed of the mixer to high and beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, watching the honey mixture until it reaches 248°F. As soon as the honey reaches 248°F, put the pan with the sugar mixture on medium-high heat as you remove the honey from the heat.

While beating the whites on high, slowly stream the hot honey mixture down the inside of the mixing bowl and into the whites. Do not pour it directly on the whites or they may collapse. Keep beating on medium-high speed.

As the sugar mixture starts to bubble, dip a pastry brush in water and brush the sides to remove any sugar crystals. Alternately, you can put on a lid on the pot for a couple of minutes once it’s bubbling and let steam do the job for you.

Attach the candy thermometer. When the sugar mixture reaches 310°F, turn the mixer back up to high and slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites in a slow stream down the inside of the bowl. Do not pour the syrup directly on the whites or they may collapse.

Once the sugar syrup is incorporated, continue beating for 3 to5 minutes until the whites feel warm, not piping hot (if your mixer bowl is metal, the bowl will still be hot even when the whites have cooled some).

Add the chocolate and beat on high until the chocolate is combined. The heat from the egg mixture will melt the chocolate. (At this point, I realized my mixing bowl wasn't nearly big enough so I had to mix in the chocolate by hand, which is why there are white streaks in my candy)

Stir in the krispies until incorporated. Then pour in your peanut butter and stir peanut butter throughout the chocolate without mixing it completely smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it in an even layer.

Let it sit for 24 hours at room temperature, uncovered.

Invert the nougat onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper. Cut as desired.

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks. The texture of the nougat will soften a little after a couple of days.

Most nougat improves in texture after a day or two and will keep up to two weeks at room temperature in an airtight container. Nougat should be stacked in layers with parchment in between to prevent sticking on the cut edges.

Chocolate Casting; Part II

You might remember my brown sugar casted chocolate post?  The comment section on my post, and other forums that posted it, is full of possible suggestions for how to smooth up the surface of the casted candies.  Brown sugar creates a grainy effect on the outer surface of the chocolate.  From cornstarch to a damp cloth to tinfoil, I hoped to eventually try them all.  I'm no expert, but I said I would give it a go and I did!


   




This time around, I used these three objects: an acorn, a large button and a knight.

And for casting mediums, I used cocoa powder, powdered sugar, flour, cornstarch and once again brown sugar (for comparison).  I also tried the suggestion of pressing the object into foil in the brown sugar.  I thought this was a really good idea until I realized the foil would fold when fitted to a rounded object.  It also tore in places, so that was a no-go.

I pressed all three objects into the casting medium, filled them with melted chocolate and chilled them in the freezer, then brushed them off with a dry soft toothbrush.  If I couldn't get the medium off the chocolate with a brush, I then soaked them in cold water and washed them off in really cold water several minutes later.

  And here is the outcome! 

I tell you, I had really high hopes for the cocoa powder.  But it didn't hold its shape when the objects were removed and it stuck all over the chocolate a lot thicker than I had expected.  

The powdered sugar held the details but wouldn't wash off the surface of the chocolate despite great efforts.  

And surprisingly, the cornstarch didn't hold it's shape for the fine details very well, either.   I know it's used in factories for making gummy bears but those are a rounded shape similar to an acorn.  For the fine lines, though, it didn't work for me.

The brown sugar held its shape, but as expected it was grainy looking.  It was especially evident with these tiny objects.  And the big success of the day:  flour?!  I was really surprised!

You can't see it well in this picture, but I had no success with the white chocolate.  Twice it "burned" and seized up when I melted it and I had to start over.  When I finally kept my eye on it and poured it into the mold when thin enough, it hardened too fast and ended up lumpy plus the flour stuck to it really badly.

For the record, I also tried cooking spray on the brown sugar but it was a lumpy fail.  The surface of the chocolate that was in contact with the oil did not set up and was so fragile the stem wouldn't hold up and broke clear off.

And I took a damp paper towel to a grainy looking button though it didn't go so well.  It did smooth out a little but to do this on every surface of every chocolate would be insane.  Realizing this, I gave it a sort of a half-effort.

flour casted chocolate

For comparison, here is the salt shaker casted in flour.  I will admit, I used bread flour because that's all I had.  I have no idea if other types of flour would make a difference but I'm guessing all-purpose would work out the same.

Below this photo, you can see the original brown sugar casted shakers.  I overexposed both photos a bit so you can see the fine details.  The flour created a really smooth, detailed surface, though it's tricky to get every speck of flour off the surface of the chocolate.  I gave it a moderate effort and this is the result.  It looks pretty good and the flavor isn't affected by the flour specks.

brown sugar casted chocolate

My choice of subject on the last post caused quite a stir due to its apparent phallic nature!  Yeah, ok, I get it.  My point was that I wanted to add salt and pepper to the chocolate, which I did, and it was good.

Thanks to everyone for your (non-phallic related) suggestions on the original post!  It's been a lot of fun and I learned a lot along the way!

Moral of the story:  If you're looking for perfection, I wish you good luck and patience.  If you're looking for fun, especially with open-minded kids involved, this is the perfectly easy and fun project for you!

Enjoy!

Marshmallows, Bonbons and Candied Lemon Rinds

As a newbie, this Daring Bakers challenge terrified me!  I was not totally off base in my concern -candy making certainly is a trip!

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

From my limited experience, candy making seems to be a test of one's ability to remain on their feet, remain patient and be methodical. Which isn't necessarily the most fun, but there's an addicting reward when your done.

These are my chosen candies in their final form:

Chocolate crusted cherry pecan marshmallow pies

Candied preserved lemon peel in bitter chocolate
Brown sugar and black pepper laced Chai tea marshmallow bonbons

Because I have always wanted to make my own marshmallows and what better candy to put inside chocolate? I absolutely love tea and to make my own Chai concentrate was a joy. And I had a jar of preserved lemons from a previous post pickling in my fridge, and I've been looking for an excuse to eat the last few like candy.

Preserved lemons are a savory Moroccan pickle that I have fallen in love with. I pickled mine in salt and lemon juice with bay leaf, clove, and black pepper (as seen here). It was the perfect citrus rind to use for a unique and perfectly balanced candy.

These candied preserved lemon peels are sweet, sour, salty and bitter - so good. They turned out to be my favorite sweet treat of the 3 candies I made.



I found my marshmallow recipe on a David Lebovitz post. His tips have been extremely valuable to me and I read his blog semi-religiously. I've had this recipe on my list of things to try since I stumbled on it. Creating marshmallows was the easiest stage of the whole candy making process and they were so amazing I doubt I'll buy a marshmallow from the store again!

I used David's recipe exactly as written but added my own flavors at different stages for each, then coated the marshmallows in tempered chocolate.

Tempering the chocolate was a very new experience for me. I used a marble slab that I literally borrowed from an end table in my kid's room (after removing its coat of crayon and nail polish). My bench scraper is a big putty knife that I managed to clean of all paint and plaster. And just like on TV, I melted it down, scraped and folded it in circles, etc...It took a really long time as the day was hot and humid, but it worked. My end result was a glossy chocolate that had a great snap to it. Whew.



For the cherry pies, I formed them in a mini-muffin tin, topping the marshmallow with pecans when wet. One day later I dipped each in chocolate half way to create the chocolate crust. Toasting the tops with a blow torch might seem like overkill - but the flavor was completely awesome!






The chai tea marshmallows have a mixture of brown sugar, black pepper and cardamom folded into the finished marshmallow fluff. The smell and taste of the pepper and cardamom together is perfect. The semi-sweet chocolate on the bonbons is dark but sweeter than that on the lemon peels. I happen to be a die-hard dark chocolate fan but I imagine these would be really nice in milk chocolate as well.

Read on for instructions on the creation of these candies...

Candied Preserved Lemon Peels in Bitter Chocolate:

I began my candy making adventure by rinsing and slicing the preserved lemon peels. I soaked them in simple syrup for hours, then rolled them in super fine sugar. I dried them in the open air for a day or so, before completing the drying process in a 250F oven for an hour. After they appeared glazed and were a balance of chewy and tender, I removed the rinds from the oven and cooled them completely. I then dipped them 3/4s deep in a tempered bittersweet chocolate and let them cool on parchment paper in the fridge.




Chocolate Crusted Cherry Pecan Marshmallow Pies:

I used this recipe by David Lebovitz when making my marshmallows. For the cherry marshmallow, I made the basic recipe exactly as written, then folded 1 cup of cherry preserves into the marshmallow fluff before it set. One thing I learned: When he says use one part each corn starch and powdered sugar to keep everything from sticking, he means make a huge bowl full of it, throw it everywhere, in mass quantities, and still expect some stickiness to happen here and there. It was messy! Though, not as messy as the chocolate, which still plasters corners of my kitchen and dining room.

I formed my cherry marshmallows in mini-muffin tins, custard cups, and on a sheet pan. I didn't have enough non-stick powder mix on my custard cups so those ended as a snack along the way, but the rest turned out well (literally). When the fluff was wet, I sprinkled pecans pieces that I had tossed in cinnamon on the fluff. The next day the pecans were well set into the marshmallow. One thing to note is marshmallows don't rise or shrink at all when setting. What you see in the fluff is what you'll get.

For the final candies, I dipped the mini marshmallow muffins half way in tempered chocolate and cooled them on parchment paper in the fridge. Once everything was set and done, I toasted the tops with a propane torch and the results exceeded my expectations in how popular they'd be with my tasters! These were the top rated candy of the week.



Brown Sugar and Black Pepper Laced Chai Tea Marshmallow Bonbons:
The Chai tea marshmallows were made a little differently. I used the same marshmallow recipe as the others, but in place of water for blooming the gelatin, and in place of water when melting the sugars, I used a homemade Chai tea concentrate. After the fluff was made, I folded in one cup of brown sugar mixed with one tablespoon black pepper and one tablespoon ground cardamom. Once this mix was swirled through the fluff, I turned it onto a powdered sheet pan. The next day, I cut these with a powdered knife into two-bite sized squares before dipping in tempered semi-sweet chocolate.

Chai tea concentrate:
One pint very strong black tea (I used Assam)
6 whole cloves
One inch piece of peeled ginger, sliced thin
2 cinnamon sticks
3 whole cardamom pods
1 teaspoon roughly cracked black peppercorns
Place all components in a lidded pint jar and place in fridge over night. Feel free to give them a turn or a shake every so often. Before use, strain through a coffee filter.



Note: At all stages in the marshmallow making process, do use liberal amounts of your cornstarch powdered sugar mix. Once your marshmallows have set and you've pulled them out of their forms, you'll need to toss them in the powder again and shake off the excess before moving forward.


And here's how I tempered my chocolate - the longest and scariest part of my candy making journey...

Tempering Method: On marble or granite
Tools: Marble slab, bench scraper, dipping forks and digital thermometer
Tempering Range:
Dark: 113°F-122°F > 80.6°F > 89.6°F
Chocolate is melted and heated until it reaches 113°F. It is then poured onto a marble surface and moved around the surface with a scraper until it has thickened and cools to 80.6°F. Once cooled it is then put back into the bowl over heat to bring it back up to 89.6°F. It is now ready for using in molds, dipping and coating.
Tempering using a marble surface:

• Finely chop chocolate if in bar/slab form.
• Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
• Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water).
• Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate so that it melts evenly.
• Once it’s melted, keep an eye on the thermometer, as soon as it reaches 113°F then remove from heat (113°F-122°F for dark chocolate).
• Pour ¾ of the melted chocolate onto a marble or granite slab or worktop.
• Using a scraper or large palette knife move the chocolate around the surface to help it cool. Use a motion that folds the chocolate on itself.
• Check temperature regularly with a thermometer.
• Once it reaches 80°F put the chocolate back into the heatproof bowl with the remaining chocolate.
• Gently stir together with a rubber spatula.
• Check the temperature to see if it’s risen back up to the working temperature of the chocolate (89.6F for dark).
• If the temperature has not risen to its working temperature, put the bowl back over the simmering water, stirring gently.
• IMPORTANT: You really need to keep an eye on the temperature as it can rise quicker than you think. As soon as it’s up to its working temperature, remove from heat.
• It’s now tempered and ready to use.
Tip: Having the chocolate in a warmed glass bowl and wrapped in hot kitchen towel can also help keep the chocolate at its working temperature for longer.
Tip: It is also easier to keep the heat if you work with larger amounts of chocolate rather than small amounts. Any leftover chocolate can be kept to be used later and then re-tempered.
Tip: Don’t let any water get into your chocolate at any stage of the tempering process!

While the procedure takes as long (or longer) as it seems in print, my chocolate tempering process went pretty smoothly. The end result, as far as I know, was good for a first-timer.

I wondered if the melted chocolate would melt my marshmallows as I dipped, but this didn't happen. The chocolate dipping process was a mess and I learned to use parchment lined baking sheets instead of metal racks. The chocolate stuck to everything but parchment.

With one quick search, you will find many candy making recipes, tips and procedures. With some common sense and a good deal of patience, you can easily turn any recipe into a creative (messy, and wonderfully delicious!) process.

Enjoy!