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“Stack of individually wrapped honey pistachio hazelnut almond nougat pieces arranged for gifting.”

Classic Christmas Nougat

This traditional soft nougat combines a precise cooked-sugar syrup with whipped egg whites to create a glossy, aerated confection studded with roasted almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios. The result is a perfectly balanced nougat—chewy, fragrant, with a hint of orange and ideal for gifting or adding to your Christmas dessert table.
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Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 1 hour
2 hours
Total Time 5 hours
Servings: 16 people
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

Nougat
  • 415 g castor sugar
  • 225 ml water
  • 90 g glucose (Note 1.)
  • 250 g honey
  • 100 g egg white (70g)
  • 20 g castor sugar
  • 125 g hazelnut whole
  • 60 g pistachio. whole
  • 175 g blanched almonds
  • 90 g glace cherries pieces
  • 30 g cocoa butter (Note 2.)
TPT (Tant pour tant)
  • 100 g corn flour
  • 100 g icing sugar

Equipment

  • 2 Saucepans
  • 1 Thermometer
  • 1 pastry brush
  • 2 roasting sheets
  • 1 Glass (for checking soft ball)
  • 1 Stand Mixer
  • 1 whisk and flat beater
  • 1 Sharp knife -long blade
  • 2 Silpat mats (or baking paper)
  • 4 frames or shallow baking trays for setting the nougat
  • 1 Sieve
  • 2 Tea Towels
  • 1 step palette knife
  • 1 chopping board
  • 2 metal spoons
  • 1 scraper
  • 2 bowls (1 for the oven )
  • 1 Rolling Pin

Method
 

  1. Start boiling the sugar, glucose and water together on the stove to 170C at the same time as the honey as it will take longer-a lot longer to get to temperature.
  2. Boil the honey to 130C
  3. When the honey gets to 100C place egg white in a mixing bowl start whisking add the sugar at soft peaks.
  4. Stop the mixer and add the honey to the egg white when it reaches temperature.
  5. Keep mixing on a medium speed
  6. Check the sugar glucose mix and when it reaches temperature-170C stop the mixer and add the syrup.
  7. Keep the nougat mix hot as long as possible as this evaporates the water and firms up the mix.
  8. Mix on a fast speed until it reaches hard ball (dip the knife into the egg white mix and then into a cold glass of water to achieve a soft ballo test hard ball.)
  9. Roast the nuts (hazelnuts and almonds) separately at 140C until a golden colour
  10. Add the walnuts for around 5 minutes with the pistachios
  11. Take the skin off the hazelnuts with a tea towel and roughly crush with a rolling pin
  12. Add all the nuts to a bowl and keep warm in the oven
  13. Change the whisk to a paddle in the egg whites and all the nuts.
  14. Chop the cherries and add to the mix.
  15. Scrape down and add the cocoa butter melted and cooled.
  16. Prepare a frame or cake tray
  17. Use cornflour and icing sugar sifted and dust the Silpat mat and frames well.(TPT)
  18. If using a cake tray line with silicone paper and dust in the same way
  19. Add the mixture to the frame and press down well.
  20. Roll flat and let set and cool.
  21. Cut nougat into even pieces and wrap in cellophane
  22. Nougat is affected by the moisture in the atmosphere

Video

Notes

Note 1- Edlyn or Queen work really well. Both available at the supermarket.
Note 2.Cocoa butter (or cacao butter) is a pale-yellow, edible vegetable fat naturally extracted from cocoa beans. it is available on line or in some supermarkets or wholefood stores such as source bulk food store.