Turron (Spanish Almond Nougat)
Spanish nougat, or Turron as it’s otherwise known, is a beloved traditional sweet treat prepared during the Christmas holidays in Spain. Recipes for it date back centuries and include simple ingredients like almonds, honey and egg whites and it’s mostly remained the same throughout history.
This crunchy dessert definitely has a charm of its own and with enough patience and care anyone can prepare and enjoy this simple nougat.
Turron (Spanish Almond Nougat)
These days there are hundreds of types of turrón, incorporating anything from chocolate, pistachio, anything to satisfy the palates of the young and not so young. But when it comes to Christmas, a classic will always remain: the hard turrón from Alicante, with its almonds embedded in sweet white nougat.
Ingredients
- 200 g caster sugar
- 200 g honey
- 250 g raw almonds Marcona
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180° C/ 356 °F.
- Once it's reached the right temperature, place the almonds on a parchment paper-lined tray and put it in the oven to roast. Turn them once or twice until lightly browned on all sides and take them out of the oven.
- In a pan, add the sugar and honey. Heat up and stir until the sugar has fully dissolved (approximately 5 minutes).
- Meanwhile, whisk the egg white in a mixing bowl until it foams up and stiffens.
- Add the sugar and honey mixture to the egg white and fold it in until you get a smooth, white and glossy cream-like consistency. The egg white not only gives flavor but also contributes to the distinctive white color of this nougat.
- Return the nougat to the pan and place over low heat to cook and evaporate the excess moisture. This guarantees a brittle nougat that breaks apart easily. At this point you'll want to stir constantly to avoid it sticking to the pan.
- After about 20-30 minutes, you can test to see if the nougat is done by adding a small dollop of it in a cup of cold water. If the dollop hardens and becomes brittle then it's ready.
- Turn the heat off and add in the almonds and stir to incorporate them fully. The aim is to vigorously blend the entire mixture with freshly toasted almonds until a perfectly uniform 'paste' is achieved.
- Prepare a mold, or a tray lined with wafer sheet (or baking sheet covered with plastic wrap) and pour the nougat on top. Level it out to a thickness of about 1/2 an inch (1 cm). If you're using wafer sheets, place the other one on top and press lightly onto the nougat. We spread the mixture of almonds, honey, sugar and egg white with the help of our hands and if it has already started to cool with a rolling pin.
- Leave the nougat to cool and harden. Slice it up into squares and store in an airtight container. Avoid moisture and placing it in the fridge so it doesn't soften.
- Enjoy!
Notes
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