Sweet Corn Nougat Recipes

Steps:

• Line an 8-by-11-inch baking pan with plastic wrap and spray the wrap liberally with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper and spray the parchment with cooking spray.
• Slice 1/2 cup of the gumdrops in half long ways with a paring knife and lay them flat-side down on the parchment. Roughly chop the remaining gumdrops and set aside.
• Put the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Combine 3 1/4 cups of the sugar, the honey, corn syrup and 1/4 cup of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Brush down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to remove sugar crystals and continue to cook, brushing the sides of the pan down occasionally, for 8 minutes.
• Increase the heat to medium-high and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. When the syrup reaches 260 degrees F, about 9 minutes, turn the stand mixer on to medium-high speed and whip the egg whites until foamy, about 1 minute. Sprinkle in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and whip the egg whites until they hold firm peaks, about 3 minutes.
• Continue to cook the syrup, swirling the pot occasionally, until the mixture reaches 290 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes more.
• Replace the stand mixer's whisk attachment with a paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low speed, carefully pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the egg whites become stiff and glossy, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the vanilla extract and orange zest; mix to combine. Add the 1 cup chopped gumdrops and the pistachios to the nougat mixture and stir to combine. The mixture will be very stiff.
• Spread the nougat into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a small offset spatula sprayed with cooking spray. Spray a piece of parchment paper with nonstick spray and place over the nougat, sprayed-side down. Let sit at room temperature for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Once the nougat has set, place a piece of parchment paper on top of a cutting board and spray with cooking spray. Lift the nougat out of the pan and flip it over onto the cutting board, then peel off the plastic and parchment. Trim the edges with a large heavy knife sprayed with cooking spray. Cut the nougat into about 40 pieces, each about 1 1 /2 inches square, spraying the knife with cooking spray as needed.
• Wrap the squares individually in parchment paper. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• Toast the almonds and pistachios at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes on a baking sheet.
• Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan and cook to 330 degrees F. When the sugar reaches 265 degrees F, start to heat the honey in a separate pan and bring it to a low boil.
• Simultaneously, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks with an electric mixer, being careful not to overwhisk. With the mixer still on high, gradually add the honey, pouring it down the side of the bowl. Continue to whisk. When the sugar reaches 330 degrees F, pour it over the honey meringue. Mix for 5 minutes at medium speed. Switch to the paddle and continue mixing for another 5 minutes. Using a spatula, incorporate the warm nuts. This will be sticky. Apply cooking spray to parchment lined sheet pan. Pour the nougat onto the parchment paper and flatten or spread to 3/4-inch thick with cornstarch-dusted hands or rolling pin. Rest overnight at room temperature. Cut to desired sized pieces and dip half in chocolate or drizzle chocolate over the top.
• How to Temper Chocolate(From Dessert Circus, Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make At Home by Jacques Torres):
• Chocolate is tempered so that after it has been melted, it retains its gloss and hardens again without becoming chalky and white (that happens when the molecules of fat separate and form on top of the chocolate). There are a variety of ways to temper.
• One of the easiest ways to temper chocolate is to chop it into small pieces and then place it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high power until most of the chocolate is melted. Be very careful not to overheat it. (The temperature of dark chocolate should be between 88 and 90 degrees F, slightly warmer than your bottom lip. It will retain its shape even when mostly melted. White and milk chocolates melt at a temperature approximately 2 degrees F less because of the amount of lactose they contain.) Any remaining lumps will melt in the chocolate's residual heat. Use an immersion blender or whisk to break up the lumps. Usually, chocolate begins to set, or crystallize, along the side of the bowl. As it sets, mix those crystals into the melted chocolate to temper it. A glass bowl retains heat well and keeps the chocolate tempered longer.
• Another way to temper chocolate is called seeding. In this method, add small pieces of unmelted chocolate to melted chocolate. The amount of unmelted chocolate to be added depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate, but is usually 1/4 of the total amount. It is easiest to use an immersion blender for this, or a whisk.
• The classic way to temper chocolate is called tabliering. Two thirds of the melted chocolate is poured onto a marble or another cold work surface. The chocolate is spread out and worked with a spatula until its temperature is approximately 81 degrees F. At this stage, it is thick and begins to set. This tempered chocolate is then added to the remaining non-tempered chocolate and mixed thoroughly until the mass has a completely uniform temperature. If the temperature is still too high, part of the chocolate is worked further on the cold surface until the correct temperature is reached. This is a lot of work, requires a lot of room, and makes a big mess.
• A simple method of checking tempering, is to apply a small quantity of chocolate to a piece of paper or to the point of a knife. If the chocolate has been correctly tempered, it will harden evenly and show a good gloss within a few minutes.

Steps:

• In a medium size skillet, heat up the olive oil on high heat and sear the scallops for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm.
• Using a sharp knife cut the corn kernels off of the cob and put through a vegetable juicer. Place the corn juice into a small saucepot and bring to a simmer. Cook the corn sauce until it starts to thicken. Set aside and keep warm.
• Heat the grapeseed oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the shallots and saute until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 4 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and saute until heated through, about 3 minutes. Transfer the Sauteed vegetables into a medium-size mixing bowl and toss with the warmed sweet corn sauce and chervil. Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, place the succotash in the center of the plate, top with a few seared scallops, and drizzle some of the corn sauce around the plate.

Steps:

• Line an 8x11-inch baking dish with plastic wrap, allowing ends to hang over the sides. Place 1 sheet of 8x10 wafer paper in the bottom of the pan. Keep the roasted almonds and pistachios in a warm place until ready to add at the end. This makes it easier to mix them in.
• Pour honey into a heavy-bottomed pot. Add sugar. Mix and stir over low heat with a spatula, stirring constantly until mixture turns from grainy to silky and smooth, about 30 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
• Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl; add a pinch of salt. Whisk until whites form soft peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. Place pot back on low heat. Gradually whisk about a quarter of the whipped egg whites into the honey/sugar mixture; whisk in the remaining egg whites in 3 more batches.
• Continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until mixture turns a brighter white and a ribbon of the mixture does not immediately incorporate back into the rest of the mixture and stays intact on the surface for a while. This will take about 40 minutes. You can add a few drops of the mixture into a small bowl of ice cold water to test the consistency; ideally it should feel like soft clay.
• Whisk in vanilla and lemon zest. Add warm almonds and pistachios and stir to incorporate evenly.
• Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Even out as best you can with a clean oiled spatula. Top with 2nd sheet of wafer paper, shiny side up. Cover with plastic wrap and press down evenly, tamping mixture down gently but firmly. Remove top layer of plastic.
• Allow torrone to sit at room temperature until cool, firm, and ready to cut, 1 or 2 hours. Lift torrone from baking dish with the edges of the bottom layer of plastic wrap. Invert and remove plastic from the bottom. If the plastic wrap is difficult to remove from the edges of the torrone, you can trim off the edges.
• Cut torrone into 1-inch squares using a sharp serrated knife.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Scatter the nuts over a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10 mins, then set aside (they don't need to cool). Cut the two pieces of rice paper to fit a 20 x 20cm square tin. Line the tin with one sheet of rice paper, brush the sides of the tin with oil, then dust the tin with icing sugar.
• Put the honey into a saucepan, then in another saucepan tip in the sugar, glucose and 100ml of water. Put the egg whites in the very clean bowl of a tabletop mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk on a low speed. Heat and boil the honey until it reaches 121C on a digital cooking thermometer, then straightaway pour the honey over the egg whites and set the speed to medium. While the whites and honey are whisking, bring the sugar and water to the boil and keep boiling until the syrup reaches 145C exactly on a digital cooking thermometer. Pour the hot syrup in a slow, steady stream into the beating egg white mixture. Continue beating for about 10 mins until you have a thick, glossy, firm meringue. It's hard to over-whisk at this stage but easy to under-whisk, so keep going until the meringue looks like sticky chewing gum.
• Use a spatula to stir though the nuts (which should still be warm), the vanilla extract and a small pinch of salt. Scrape the mixture into the lined tin, then smooth over to spread the mixture out evenly (if you have an offset spatula, now is the time to use it). Finally, top with the remaining sheet of rice paper and press down. Leave the nougat to set for at least 2 hrs or overnight.
• To turn out and portion, use a spatula to loosen the edges of the nougat away from the tin, then invert the tin on to a clean board and use a sharp serated, hot knife to portion into bars or squares. The nougat will keep, stored in an airtight container, for up to a month.