How to make almond and hazelnut praline

The perfect ingredient to elevate your desserts and sweet treats, and a delicious temptation, even to be enjoyed by the spoonful, this homemade almond and hazelnut praline will have you salivating as soon as you taste it.

Praliné is a creamy cream made from roasted nuts, cooked in syrup and caramelized , which are crushed until a fine paste is obtained. In this case you will see that the nuts are of two kinds, almonds and hazelnuts, but we can make praline with only one type of nut in the same way.

Often, it is accompanied by chocolate , an ingredient that goes perfectly with nuts. The paste or cream that you get, with that mixture of cocoa and hazelnut or almond flavors, is a delicacy for any sweet you are going to prepare. (See below the recipe to see how to make chocolate almond praline.)

You will see that, although it may seem a bit laborious, if you follow the indicated steps well, you will get a delicious homemade praline that I advise you to save immediately, because it will be your downfall!

And although it is traditionally a pastry ingredient, as well as being perfect for filling chocolates, flavoring cookies or adding to cream to achieve different desserts each time, it can provide an exquisite point of contrast when you prepare the vinaigrettes for your salads.

How to use the praline

The praline is a high confectionery cream or paste, a delicacy for anyone's palate. Some of the most common uses of praline are:

• It is often used to prepare rich chocolates and truffles;
• for the preparation of nougats ;
• use that wonderful paste for the filling of cakes and cakes , or for decoration;
• to make homemade chocolates;
• to fill profiteroles mixed with a little cream;
• you can enjoy it as it is on some cookies or on toast.
• for the elaboration of mousses , both to use as a base and in its preparation.
• You can also stop classifying it as desserts, and use almond and hazelnut praliné for a sauce, filling or decoration in fish dishes and salads . That caramelized almond flavor can be the magic ingredient in endless recipes.

Let's go with the recipe to make homemade praline!

Ingredients

• 125 g raw almonds with skin
• 125 g raw hazelnuts with skin
• 250g of sugar

Preparation

1. Spread the almonds and hazelnuts on a baking tray .
2. Toast them in the oven for 15 minutes at 150 °C.
3. Once toasted, let them cool a bit and rub them so that the skin comes off. Reserve them in the oven to keep them warm.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the dry caramel and heat 1/3 of the sugar in a wide-bottomed saucepan. It is important that you do not stir the sugar so that it does not crystallize.
5. When you see that it begins to dissolve, add a little more sugar and move the pan gently in circles, so that it is evenly distributed.
6. As you see the sugar melt, add a little more, stir gently by rocking the pan, and let it melt.
7. Repeat the process until you have added all the sugar and let it heat up until you see that it has a golden hue.
8. At this point, add the almonds and hazelnuts and stir well to mix them with the caramel.
9. Distribute on a smooth silicone mat placed on a baking tray, well extended and let them cool.
10. When they are cold, break them into pieces and put them in the processor glass.
11. Blend them until you get a fine and creamy paste (for this, you will need a good powerful food processor ).
12. Pour the praline into an airtight container and store for about two weeks.

How to make hazelnut and almond praline with chocolate

Praline is often presented as a nut and chocolate spread. If you want to do it like this, you just have to melt the chocolate and mix it with the praline in the blender, add it while grinding.

The most common is to make it with dark chocolate, but nowadays pralines are made with all kinds of chocolate (white, black or milk). Use the type of chocolate that you want for your preparation, but that is of quality, it has to be up to the delicious praline that you have prepared!

Grades

• You can use this recipe to surprise your guests with a sweet gift: arrange the praline in a beautiful glass jar , and you have an ideal gift.
• Use a smooth silicone mat to spread the caramelized nuts. If you do it on parchment paper, they will stick to you when you try to spread them out and you won't be able to handle them well. Silicone will make the process much easier.