Praline (powder) and pâte de praliné (pasta) from nuts

Preparation steps

• Nuts can be caramelized with a skin or peeled. Almonds do not need to be peeled, but the hazelnut skin makes the paste as bitter as burnt caramel, so it is better to use at least more peeled hazelnuts. Arrange the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in one layer and place in an oven preheated to 200 ° C. Bake until the hazelnut skin cracks and acquires a dark brown color, about 10 minutes. Stir the hazelnuts a few times during baking. Place the roasted, hot hazelnuts in a kitchen towel or kitchen paper and rub until most of the skin has come off. If the pasta is made of almonds, fry them together with hazelnuts. Their skin does not need to be peeled. If made from the almonds themselves, they can be fried directly in a pan and caramelized in the 3rd way.
• Nuts can be caramelized in several ways: Method 1 Melt sugar in a light-bottomed pan over low heat. When the sugar has dissolved and turned light yellow, stir in the oven-roasted nuts (peeled hazelnuts) and stir with a wooden spoon until coated with caramel. The sugar will re-crystallize and it is necessary to continue heating and stirring constantly until it dissolves again and gets a bronze color. Caramel should not darken because the paste will have a bitter taste. Then pour the mixture on a silicone base or sheet lined with baking paper and flatten to be as thin as possible. Allow to cool. Method 2 Roast the nuts in the oven and peel them (hazelnuts). Arrange on a silicone base or sheet lined with baking paper thickly, but in one layer. Make caramel from the sugar and pour over the fruit. Method 3 Place the roasted nuts (peeled hazelnuts) in the oven in a pan large enough for the fruit to be in one layer and heat over low heat. When both the pan and the fruit have warmed up, pour in the sugar. The sugar will immediately begin to melt. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts and gets a bronze color. Turn the mixture on a silicone base or sheet lined with baking paper, flatten and cool. If the fruit is not peeled or the praline is made from the almonds themselves, then fry the fruit in a dry pan, add sugar and caramelize. Method 4 For those who find it easier to control the caramelization of sugar with water: Heat sugar and 2 tablespoons of water over medium heat. When the sugar has dissolved and bubbles have formed (the solution is white, sparkling and full of bubbles and should not turn yellow), add the nuts all at once. The procedure is further the same as under 1.
• Break the cooled caramel plate into smaller pieces before grinding. These broken, irregular pieces can be used to decorate cakes or snacks and then separate a couple of pieces. I put the caramel plate between two baking papers and crush it with a meat roller so that my multipractice knives or choppers are not accidentally damaged. For a smaller amount I use a chopper. Put everything in a multipractice and grind pulsing at intervals of a few seconds. After just a few seconds, you get PRALIN, a powder that can be stored in an airtight container and used to decorate cakes and pies, ice cream or praline creams. Store in a dry and cool place, not in the refrigerator.
• If we want to get a paste, it is necessary to grind praline, a powder mixture, until the fruits release the oil under the influence of the heat of the machine knives and the powder is moistened at first,
• and then turn the mixture into a thick cream.
• This procedure will take 10-15 minutes and during this time the machine will rest a few times so as not to overheat. Each time the machine is at a standstill, scrape off the accumulated mixture from the walls of the machine, and it is good to stir the whole mixture.
• If by any chance the mixture does not turn into cream at all, add a few drops of oil. Do not wash the chopper or multipractice knives with hot water as it will numb.
• Pour the resulting thick paste of pâte de praliné or praliné into a jar, close the lid and store in the refrigerator. It can take several months. It is used in various creams, as a coating for pancakes, and is an indispensable ingredient of the French cake Paris-Brest.
• If the paste is mixed with an equal amount of melted milk chocolate, pralinoise is obtained. Pour into silicone molds and cool. Store in a cool place.