Paris-Brest, Part 2
And so it's on to the second part of our dessert classic, the stand-out in the Paris-Brest, this French fantasy of cream. We've already built the cake itself, discovering ways to make pâte à choux work, light and airy every time. Now it's time to start filling it.
And thus, the nougatine.
Nougatine (noo-guh-teen) is, in fact, a simple almond brittle. Start by lining a large baking sheet with a silicone mat--or greasing it generously with butter.
Next, place 1 cup confectioners' (or "powdered") sugar and 1/2 cup sliced almonds in a skillet set over medium heat.
Why the confectioners' sugar, and not perhaps granulated sugar? Because confectioners' sugar includes corn starch in its mix, corn starch which will absorb any ambient moisture, thus turning the nougatine quite hard, like a rock. You're going to pulverize it to coarse sand in the food processor, so you want a durable, firm candy.
Stir the sugar and almonds over the heat until the sugar melts and the mixture turns a dark, golden brown. Timing here is hard to state because environmental factors play havoc with the nougatine: the residual oil in the nuts, the day's humidity, the ambient temperature of the room, etc. Basically, just keep stirring until the mixture is caramelized and liquid, quite hot, way over the boiling point of water (although the candy itself will not boil).
Pour this mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it quickly into a thin layer. Cool to room temperature--for at least 30 minutes, probably more like an hour.
In fact, you can make the nougatine ahead of time, let it cool, then chip it into chunks and store these on the counter in a sealed container overnight.
Or you can just make nougatine some night for a great dinner party: a fantastic almond brittle, best with coffee.
But we've got our eyes on a way bigger prize: the Paris-Brest. Up next, making the pastry cream and putting the whole thing together.
Mark Scarbrough | Posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 2:05PM Paris-Brest, airy, cream, dessert, fantasy, pastry, pâte à choux 
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Reader Comments (10)
Does the nougatine keep for any longer? For example, could you layer it between sheets of parchment and freeze it? It would be a lovely thing to have on hand, for an Eton Mess or topping a pavlova for example, but I know that after a while it gets sticky at room temperature. How does it store in the fridge? Thanks! :)
Celia:
It doesn't store too well in the fridge. It does get gummy, even with the cornstarch. I've never tried to freeze it so I can't speak to it. I just know that humidity is its nemesis. That said, you might be able to keep it at room temp for longer than we have. I just can't guarantee it.
Mark
I must try some and freeze it and see. The freezer is quite dry, so maybe it will be ok. I'll let you know how I go!
Can't wait! And we're speaking of making nougatine just to make it, to have it on its own, right? Because if you're making it to put in a Paris-Brest, then I suppose it doesn't matter if it gets a little sticky. After all, you're going to crush it to the consistency of coarse sand and then fold it into pastry cream. But that's the next post.
M.
This reminds me of the famous Blum's coffee crunch cake that I grew up with in SF. It only kept for a day, because if you refrigerate it overnight, the crunchy, coffee-flavored toffee bits strewn all over the top and sides got soggy. So as kids, we just ate huge pieces right when my parents bought it, telling ourselves it would be a waste to let it get soggy, right? ;)
Mark, I've just sent Pete out to buy flaked (sliced) almonds, cream and icing sugar mixture (what we call confectioners sugar here in Oz). It's Saturday here tomorrow, and I'm hoping to try your Paris-Brest. So please don't make me wait too long for the final instructions on how to put it all together... :)
Thank you!
why is almond brittle always dissapointing when i buy it?! i thought if i had a piece it would make me stop wanting to make this long enough to finish the dobos torte i'm making for sunday's gathering, but it was terrible. it had whole almonds and they were kinda rancid. i'll just have to make it next week. can't wait to see you assemble it!
in other news, i just about paralyzed a minute ago. or that's what i thought was happenning when i couldn't move muscle and my eyelids refused to blink. i honestly can't believe you would list me in your blog roll. it's up, above and beyond anything i deserve at this point. i'm extremely grateful, and i'll take it as a challenge, and i'll ask you what you think in another year or so. a million thanks!
I see nougatine in my near future! My first batch will definitely be for immediate consumption but for future reference (and hoping that I'm not asking the heretical), may I use other nuts, such as cashews? Off to read Pt. 3!
TN: Well, nougatine is made with sliced almonds. So it's going to be a different texture with different nuts or seeds. You might want to finely chop the cashews. But they have more fat than almonds so no promises. Experimentation is the spice of life!
M.
Nougatine made! Actually, I had to make two batches, as I started eating the first batch as it was setting. It's not just real food that has curves.. :)
For any Aussies reading this, "Confectioner's Sugar" is known here as "Icing Sugar Mixture". Make sure you get the one marked "Mixture" and not "Pure", as the former has starch or tapioca added, and the latter doesn't.
The nougatine does take just a little bit of practice - I discovered that when you said "medium heat", you meant that, but I was a chicken and had it over low heat to start with, only to find the sugar clumped up and didn't melt properly. Solved once I turned the heat up a little. The second time I also added the almonds after the sugar had started to melt, as they went very dark (almost burnt) the first time.
Mark & Bruce, I'm really delighted with this - thank you! I've never been able to make praline successfully before, but this recipe with the confectioner's sugar worked an absolute treat (as we say over here). I'm going to try it again with sesame seeds. With the two batches I've made, I'm going to pulverise one for the Paris-Brest, and break the other into pieces and put it into the freezer - will let you know how that goes!