Any-Nut Praliné Recipe

Nut praline paste is a delicious and luxurious product that I discovered while earning my stripes in culinary school. Pastry chefs consider it a secret best kept behind closed doors, but I’m spilling the beans (or should I say nuts?) so that you can easily make it in your own kitchen.

I worked in numerous artisanal bakeries that used nut praline in their recipes; however, it wasn’t until my experience in Patrick Roger’s Laboratoire that I learned to make it from scratch, using it in their own chocolate bonbons. My first time tasting their freshly-made praliné aux amandes can only be described as a religious experience, and the secret to its flavour is attributed to high-quality ingredients. Because there are so few components in every bonbon, each one has to be painstakingly sourced. Here’s one example: to ensure the quality of the almonds, Patrick Roger procured his very own almond farm in Southern France! The other secret was the quality of their machinery. Their broyeur (roller mill) was an enormous green machine that took up half a room. Under the watchful gaze of the chef, it churned out the smoothest, tastiest caramel nut butter I have ever tasted.

I developed this recipe to enjoy nut pranilé in my own home baking. The paste is very versatile: you can add it to a buttercream, use it as a filling in layered cake, mix it with pastry cream to stuff into pastries, or use it to make praline chocolates. Don’t worry! - You can achieve delicious results without a giant broyeur if you have a good food processor.

Ingredients

500 sugar

200g glucose (or corn syrup)

300g roasted nut (peanut, almond, hazelnut, pecan, etc)

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Directions

1. Place glucose, sugar, and vanilla in a heavy bottom pan and place on a burner over high heat.

2. Cook until a digital thermometer reads 155°C.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the nuts of your choice.

4. Pour onto a lined baking tray and let set.

5. Break up into smaller pieces and place in a food processor.

6. Blend on high until it forms a smooth nut paste.

7. Store in an airtight container, it will last in the fridge for up to a month.