How to make nougat at home. Turron, or Christmas nougat

Today we will prepare such a tasty and nutritious dish as homemade nougat. There is no need to overpay when you can easily achieve the coveted standard with your own hands.

This is a confectionery product; according to tradition, it is prepared from honey and sugar and various nuts. Nuts are an essential product in nougat.

Nougat has been loved in Europe since the 15th century and is still an attribute of all Christmas holidays. And nougat came to Europe from the Middle East.

How to make nougat with your own hands?

We won't need much.

Products:

  • 250 g whole almonds,
  • white of 1 egg,
  • 60 g sugar,
  • citric acid 1/4 tsp,
  • a thin glass of honey,
  • 0.3 kg sugar, 1/4 cup water,
  • vanilla extract 1 tsp,
  • unsalted butter 60 g.

On the one hand, it may seem that nougat is very difficult to cook. However, once you start preparing nougat at home, you will see that there is absolutely nothing complicated, you just need to remember a couple of basic points.

Nougat often contains nuts. You can use any nuts in our sweets that you can find. For us, these are almonds and need to be toasted first. Unroasted nuts will have a certain softness, which will negatively affect the quality of the product. Roasted nuts release their aroma very intensely under the influence of temperature.

Place on a sheet or frying pan and fry until golden brown, 10 minutes. Honey should never be candied or old. Pour the honey into a ladle and bring almost to a boil. Honey helps the nougat to be completely soft and prevents the sugar from crystallizing. Plus, honey is also known to be very aromatic.

In addition, another important point - Let's cook sugar syrup. When cooking syrup, you need to take into account that before the syrup begins to boil, the sugar must be completely dissolved. Stir the sweet solution and heat it.

To prevent sugar crystals from forming along the walls of the vessel, experienced confectioners take an ordinary kitchen brush, dip it in water and brush it along the walls of the pan, as if collecting sugar.

Also, to prevent the sugar from crystallizing, add a little lemon juice to the syrup.

As soon as the syrup boils, stop stirring and do not disturb it anymore. Let the syrup heat up up to a temperature of 148 degrees, this is the soft caramel stage. It looks a lot like that, doesn't it?

A special caramel thermometer is used to control the temperature. If you plan to cook nougat or caramel in the future, then such a device is a must.

Meanwhile, separate the yolk and white, add sugar, citric acid, vanilla extract to the white and beat. Then combine hot honey and sugar syrup. Continuing to beat the whites, slowly pour in the caramel(a mixture of honey and sugar). The caramel is very hot, beat for 5-7 minutes until it becomes fluffy. Next add butter.

You can replace the butter with any chocolate (dark, white), just take a little more than the volume of butter.

Mix. The nougat mixture is ready. Pour the prepared roasted nuts into it. You can chop the nuts coarsely, but they look great in nougat whole. Mix and transfer to a form to harden. Any shape will do, which one you like and which one you have on hand. Let cool for about an hour. Then we put the form with nougat in the refrigerator to completely harden, cut it into portions.

Our yummy is ready! Bon appetit!

Among the abundance of delicious oriental delicacies, many people fell in love with nougat. It is used as a filling for sweets, a layer for cakes and as an independent dessert. Real nougat is made from natural ingredients with the addition of a large number of nuts. It is easy to prepare this delicacy at home. But first you need to understand what nougat is, what ingredients are included and what the calorie content of the dessert is. We will talk about all this in detail in our article.

What is nougat

The name of the viscous mass, which appeals to many sweet tooths, comes from the Latin word nux, which means nut. Indeed, this ingredient is added in large quantities to the sweet treat. What is nougat? What ingredients are used to prepare the dessert?

First of all, nougat is a confectionery product that is made from egg whites, sugar or honey and nuts. Traditionally, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, and walnuts are used for this delicacy, but not peanuts. The consistency of nougat can be completely different: from light and airy to thick and viscous. In addition to nuts, chocolate, citrus zest, candied fruits, etc. are optionally added to add flavor.

Southern Europe is considered the birthplace of nougat, where it has not lost its popularity since the 15th century. Most likely, the delicacy was brought to European countries from the Middle East, in particular from Persia. Today, nougat is one of the attributes of the Christmas holidays.

Nutritional value and calorie content

Nougat is characterized by a high sugar content, which makes this product popular among people involved in sports and physical labor. Children love this delicacy no less than others, for whom it, due to the high content of nuts that stimulate brain activity, can be especially useful. The average calorie content of nougat is about 400 kcal. This value may vary depending on the amount of certain ingredients in the composition.

The nutritional value of the product is quite high. The amount of protein is 7.1 g, fat 10.6 g, carbohydrates 72.2 g. The delicacy can be considered somewhat healthy. It contains a fairly large amount of nuts, honey and dried fruits. At the same time, the high sugar content makes this product harmful for people with diabetes. In any case, this sweet oriental delicacy should be consumed in limited quantities.

Nut nougat with candied fruits, hazelnuts and almonds

Preparing oriental sweets at home will not be difficult if you follow a certain procedure. The nougat recipe requires following the following step-by-step instructions:

  1. In a thick-bottomed saucepan, prepare sugar syrup from a glass of water and 800 g of sugar. Cook it over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
  2. Without removing the saucepan with syrup from the stove, add 200 g of honey to it. Continue the cooking process for 5 minutes.
  3. Beat egg whites (3 pcs.) with a mixer at high speed. Pour sugar-honey syrup into a strong protein foam in a thin stream.
  4. In a dry frying pan, fry the peeled hazelnuts, almonds and almond flakes. The total quantity of nuts used is 240 g.
  5. Add cooled hazelnuts, almonds and petals, as well as prepared candied fruits (120 g), into the protein mass. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
  6. Cover the baking sheet with foil or parchment so that not only the bottom is covered, but also the sides.
  7. Place the protein mass in the prepared form, smooth it out and put it in the refrigerator for 2 days to allow the nougat to harden. Cut the finished delicacy into small squares or rectangles and serve.

Chocolate nougat

This recipe will appeal to those people who, for a number of reasons, do not eat eggs. This delicacy does not contain any animal products, which means it can be prepared even for vegetarians.

So, many have already tried it and know what nougat is. At the same time, the oriental delicacy prepared according to the following recipe resembles a traditional dessert only in consistency. Its taste is richer and more refined. Chocolate nougat is prepared in the following sequence:

  1. Thick sugar syrup is prepared from 50 g of sugar.
  2. Almonds (100 g) are peeled, crushed into crumbs and fried in a frying pan. To peel the nuts, pour boiling water over them for 10 minutes. Then change the hot water and leave the almonds in the bowl until they cool completely. After this, it can be easily cleaned with your hands, literally by pressing the nut with your fingers. Grind the almonds in a blender or meat grinder, and then fry in a dry frying pan until golden brown.
  3. Melt chocolate (100 g) in a water bath.
  4. Combine all ingredients together, mix, add a handful of almond petals.
  5. Pour the chocolate mixture into the mold, smooth it out and put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Nougat with white chocolate

This dessert has a rich and interesting taste. It is not too difficult to prepare, but to measure the temperature of the syrup you will need to prepare a thermometer.

The nougat recipe is as follows:

  1. Pour 2/3 cup of sugar syrup and 1/3 cup of water into a thick-bottomed saucepan. Add sugar (2 tablespoons). The mass is stirred, brought to a boil and cooked until the syrup temperature is 132 °C (check with a thermometer or temperature probe).
  2. White chocolate (50 g) is melted in a water bath.
  3. Whisk egg whites (2 pcs.) with a pinch of salt.
  4. The hot syrup is gradually poured into the protein mass, constantly whisking with a mixer.
  5. Add melted chocolate and almonds. The mass is thoroughly kneaded and transferred to a greased form.
  6. The baking sheet is covered with foil and left on the table overnight. In the morning, you can cut the nougat into pieces.

Cocoa nougat in chocolate glaze

A very tasty dessert is made using the following recipe. By the way, its calorie content can be significantly reduced if you replace butter with coconut oil and cream with milk of plant origin.

Homemade nougat with cocoa in chocolate glaze is prepared according to the following recipe:

  1. Chocolate with a cocoa content of at least 80% (100 g) is melted in a water bath, combined with butter (50 g) and poured into a prepared mold measuring 10x20 cm. The baking sheet is sent to the refrigerator or freezer.
  2. Cream with a fat content of 20% (450 ml) is brought to a boil. Without removing the saucepan from the stove, add peanut butter (8 tablespoons) and butter (1 tablespoon), the same amount of cocoa powder and sugar. Using a mixer, the mass is brought to a homogeneous consistency.
  3. The saucepan is removed from the heat.
  4. The whipped mass must cool completely, after which it is poured into a baking tray on top of the chocolate. The form is sent to the refrigerator until the nougat has completely hardened.
  5. Chocolate glaze is prepared from 100 g of chocolate and 50 g of butter and poured on top of the nougat.
  6. After 2 hours, the dessert is cut into portions.

Nougat with peanuts

Nuts are a mandatory ingredient in this oriental delicacy. Almonds, hazelnuts or cashews are traditionally used. In our recipe, peanuts are added to the sweet and viscous mass.

Nougat with nuts is prepared in the following sequence:

  1. Thick sugar syrup is boiled from water (125 ml), sugar (400 g) and honey (120 g) until it forms a hard ball.
  2. The whites are whipped into foam. At the end, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
  3. Without stopping the whipping process, the syrup is beaten into the whites.
  4. Add roasted peanuts (1-2 tbsp.). The thick and viscous mass is mixed and spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment in a layer 2 cm thick.
  5. The nougat should cool at room temperature for 6 hours, after which the mold must be moved to the refrigerator until the dessert has completely hardened.

Nougat is a sweet nutty dessert that belongs to Turkish cuisine. There are many nougat recipes: you can use honey, cocoa and other ingredients.

Nougat recipe always includes nuts

Ingredients

Vegetable oil 1 tbsp. Water 50 milliliters Nuts 300 grams Sugar 400 grams Egg white 2 piece(s) Honey 130 grams

  • Number of servings: 5
  • Preparation time: 30 minutes
  • Cooking time: 2 minutes

Homemade nougat recipe

When preparing nougat, it is important to strictly adhere to all proportions so that it turns out. If everything is done correctly, the homemade version of this delicacy will be tastier and more natural than the store-bought version.

To prepare the dessert, use thick candied honey.

  1. Place water, honey and sugar in a saucepan and place it on high heat for 10 minutes. It is best to use a kitchen thermometer. The temperature of the syrup should reach 170°C.
  2. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Do not turn off the mixer. Start pouring hot honey syrup into the whites in a thin stream. The mass will thicken quickly.
  3. Turn off the mixer, add nuts, stir.
  4. Grease the mold with vegetable oil. Place the workpiece into it and level it. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
  5. Remove the dough from the mold and cut into portioned squares with a sharp knife.

You can use any nuts, for example, regular peanuts. But the tastiest dessert will be made from a nut mix - almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.

Homemade chocolate nougat recipe

If you prefer everything chocolate, try this recipe. For it you need:

  • 600 g sugar;
  • 320 g invert syrup;
  • 2 squirrels;
  • 100 g crushed nuts;
  • 60 g cocoa;
  • 30 g flour;
  • 1.5 tbsp. water.

Cooking method:

  1. Mix sugar with water and boil. Add invert syrup to it and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Do a caramel test. To do this, drop a drop of the mixture onto a plate. The drop should harden but remain soft.
  2. Beat the whites until stiff peaks form. Pour 2/3 of the hot syrup into them. You need to add the syrup little by little and constantly beat the mixture with a mixer. The mixture should become fluffy and white.
  3. Cool the remaining syrup to 80°C. Pour it into the mixture and beat it for another 15 minutes.
  4. Lastly, add the nuts and sifted cocoa powder.
  5. Sprinkle the table with flour and transfer the workpiece onto it. When it has cooled, roll it out into a layer about 1.5 cm thick. Let it stand for 3-4 hours and cut into squares or rectangles.

The nougat will be quite soft and can be easily chewed.

Nougat does not have to be an independent delicacy. It can become part of another dessert. For example, nougat can be used as a layer for a cake. It's delicious and unusual.

Dear readers, I welcome you to the website In My House! Almost everyone has heard about nougat, but it can hardly be called a very common dessert. However, real sweet tooths are, of course, familiar with it, because it is difficult to imagine a sweeter dish than this delicacy.

How many people know that nougat is not at all difficult to prepare yourself? This is exactly what my article will be about. But first, I propose to find out what nougat is, where it comes from, what it is made from and what varieties it has.

Nougat - what is it?

The name of this delicacy comes from the Latin “nux”, which means nut. Not surprising, since nuts are one of the main ingredients of nougat, along with sugar and proteins.

The composition of the dessert often varies: instead of sugar, honey is added, and the type of nut varies depending on the tradition of each individual area - it can be almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts.

The consistency of the delicacy also depends on the recipe. Nougat can be either soft, quickly melting in the mouth, or hard, with a viscous texture.

There is a white and dark variety of this sweet. The dark shade is given to it by sugar, brought to the state of caramel, and cocoa. White nougat owes its hue to beaten egg whites.

To add a variety of flavors, candied fruits, chocolate, cinnamon or vanilla are added to the sugar and protein mixture, and nougat is eaten as an independent dessert or added as a filling to candies.

There are many legends surrounding the origin of this dessert. The oldest recipes for white nougat were discovered in Baghdad, in books dating back to the 10th century. This delicacy is also mentioned in the ancient chronicles of Bukhara and Syria. From there, with trade caravans, it came to Europe.

Nowadays, this sweetness is an important part of the European Christmas menu.

The most famous varieties of nougat

Each country carefully preserves its traditional secrets of preparing the delicacy.

Spain

Spanish turron is made according to ancient recipes with roasted almonds, sugar, honey and egg white.

Italy

Italian torrone contains the same basic ingredients, plus vanilla or citrus flavoring, and is often wrapped in two thin sheets of rice paper.

The center of torrone production is the city of Cremona in northern Italy, which annually hosts a famous festival dedicated to this delicacy.

The Venetian city of Cologna Veneta is famous for the production of a special nut variety of nougat called “mandorlato”, always based on honey, sugar, egg whites and almonds, which in Italian is called “mandorle”. It has a rich flavor and requires some effort to take a bite.

Austria

Viennese nougat, Wiener Nougat, has been produced since the beginning of the 19th century. This is an option that contains only sugar, cocoa butter and nuts and has a very soft consistency. For the Austrian version of the dessert, hazelnuts are most often used.

What are the benefits of nougat?

Due to such indicators, nougat is often used as a source of additional energy by those who do a lot of sports or other physical activities. Naturally, most children also like this sweetness. As a consolation for their parents, we can remember that nuts, which are so abundant in nougat, help improve brain function.

If the delicacy contains honey and dried fruits, then they slightly increase its beneficial properties. Although even in this case, you should not consider this dessert as a remedy and consume it in large quantities. Due to its high sugar content, nougat is contraindicated for those who suffer from diabetes.

How to make nougat yourself

Now let's see how to prepare this ancient treat at home. I will focus on the most traditional options with step-by-step photos, and in a separate article we will post a recipe for making nougat.

Nougat with nuts and candied fruits

To prepare you will need:

  • 200 g sugar;
  • 1 glass of boiled water;
  • 100 g natural honey;
  • 3 egg whites;
  • 75 g nuts;
  • 50 g candied fruits.

Mix sugar with water and place the resulting mixture on low heat. When the sugar dissolves in the water, add honey. Separately, beat the whites with a mixer and add syrup from honey, sugar and water. Lightly fry the peeled and chopped nut kernels in a frying pan. Then add nuts and candied fruits to the protein mixture and mix thoroughly. Place the prepared mixture on a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator.

The total calorie content of the dish per 100 g is 430 kcal. Proteins – 6.5 g, fats – 16.0 g, carbohydrates – 65.0 g.

For a better illustration, watch the video showing the process of preparing the dessert:

Dark chocolate nougat

This type of delicacy is suitable even for vegetarians, because this recipe does not contain chicken eggs. And thanks to chocolate, the taste of the dessert becomes richer and more interesting.


You will need:

  • 100 g sugar;
  • half a glass of water;
  • 50 g almonds;
  • 100 g dark chocolate.

Dissolve sugar and water over low heat until syrup is obtained. Fry the nuts a little. Melt the dark chocolate until liquid using a double boiler. Then mix all the ingredients, place on a baking sheet covered with parchment or foil, and refrigerate until completely set.

The total calorie content of the dish per 100 g is 490 kcal. Proteins – 9.5 g, fats – 32.0 g, carbohydrates – 40.0 g.

White chocolate nougat

White chocolate gives the dessert a unique taste and makes the delicacy even sweeter, so this type of nougat is sure to please true gourmets.


Take the following ingredients:

  • 100 g sugar;
  • half a glass of water;
  • 50 g white chocolate;
  • 2 egg whites.

Dissolve sugar and water over low heat until syrup is obtained. Melt the white chocolate separately. Beat the egg whites and mix all the ingredients together. Then pour the resulting mixture into a prepared baking sheet, which can be placed in the refrigerator or any other cool place for the mixture to harden.

The total calorie content of the dish per 100 g is 490 kcal. Proteins – 9.5 g, fats – 30.0 g, carbohydrates – 50.0 g.

Cocoa nougat in chocolate glaze

Homemade dessert with cocoa, covered with chocolate glaze, is prepared as follows.


For the chocolate base you need:

  • 100 g dark chocolate: it is better to choose varieties containing at least 80% cocoa;
  • 50 g butter.

For the top layer:

  • 400 ml 20% cream;
  • 5 tablespoons peanut butter;
  • 2 tablespoons butter;
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder;
  • 1 tablespoon sugar.

For the glaze:

  • 100 g chocolate;
  • 50 g butter.

Melt the chocolate with butter and place in the refrigerator in a 20x10 cm mold. Heat the cream, add peanut butter, butter, cocoa and sugar. Mix all products thoroughly. When the mixture has cooled, place it on top of the already prepared chocolate mixture and place it in the refrigerator again.

Prepare a glaze of chocolate and butter and pour it over the nougat.

The total calorie content of the dish per 100 g is 450 kcal. Proteins – 6.5 g, fats – 20.0 g, carbohydrates – 76.0 g.

Peanut nougat

It is believed that any nut except peanuts can be used in traditional nougat. If you want to experiment in the kitchen, we offer a recipe with this “forbidden” ingredient.


You will need:

  • 1.5 cups peanuts;
  • 130 ml water;
  • 350 g sugar;
  • 120 g honey;
  • 3 squirrels;
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

Combine water, sugar and honey, bring them over low heat until a syrup forms. Beat the whites into a thick foam and add lemon juice to it.

Peel the peanuts, chop and lightly fry. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, place the resulting mass in a mold or baking sheet, level and refrigerate until completely cool.

The total calorie content of the dish per 100 g is 424 kcal. Proteins – 10.0 g, fats – 13.0 g, carbohydrates – 66.0 g.

Conclusion

So, we found out what kind of delicacy nougat is, and we learned that it is not at all difficult to make it yourself. If you cannot live a day without dessert, then you will definitely like this dessert. Well, if you prefer more dietary dishes, then nougat will help you in moments when you really want something sweet, because a small piece of this dish is enough to get the necessary dose of sugar.

Tell us in the comments if you like nougat, and if so, what kind do you prefer?

Cooking soft nougat with peanuts is a fairly quick process and there are no difficulties in it. We used peanuts, but an equivalent replacement for any other nuts or dried fruits is welcome.

There are many ways to prepare the delicacy, but this recipe has been tested more than once and the result is guaranteed. To form the nougat you will need disposable foil molds.

Ingredients:

  • Sugar - 400 g.
  • Egg category C1 (white only) - 2 pcs.
  • Peanuts - 200 g.
  • Water - 50 ml.
  • Honey - 130 g.

Making nougat with peanuts

Lightly fry the peanuts (we already have them blanched, so we skip the cleaning step). Separate the whites of two eggs and place them in a convenient bowl. Place sugar, honey, water in a saucepan. Set it to maximum heat.

Using a wooden spoon, constantly stir the sweet mass while heating. We wait for it to boil and wait exactly 10 minutes (at least). The process is quite active (constant bubbling is observed), the caramel gradually changes color to a darker one. We stir without stopping.

After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to low. Beat the egg whites until stable peaks form (add a little salt to achieve results quickly).

Hold the mixer with one hand, and with the other, very carefully pour the hot caramel in a thin stream into the protein foam. The task of the mixer at this stage is to thoroughly mix the ingredients. The mass noticeably begins to thicken, the mixer copes with whipping with effort. As soon as the caramel in the saucepan is finished, turn off the device. We ended up with a very thick, stretchy mass.

Add peanuts to the mixture.

Mix vigorously so that each nut is covered with nougat.

Grease the inner surface of the molds with vegetable oil. Distribute the soft nougat into the molds and place in the refrigerator for 2–3 hours to harden.

After a couple of hours of cooling, we can easily remove the nougat from the mold.

Nougat cuts well with a knife. We cut it into cubes.

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