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Hi Bold Bakers!
Bold Baking is all about having the confidence to bake anytime, anywhere, and to help you do that, I love teaching you the building blocks to incredible desserts. My Bold Baking Basics are just that: the foundation to creating fantastic results, and How To Make Praline is no different.
From folding praline into ice cream or Praline Fudge, to topping off brownies and blondies, this caramel flavored, nut-studded candy is an absolute must try!
What is Praline?
No, praline is not just a flavor added to drinks by way of syrup, it’s first and foremost a candy.
My recipe starts out similarly to a caramel with sugar, butter, and water, but instead of adding cream or another liquid component to make a sauce, it’s mixed with nuts and then poured onto a flat surface to harden.
Once it cools it takes on the look and texture of hard candy — shiny and glass-like. The best part about making it is cracking and shattering it into gorgeous large shards. These shards or chunks of homemade praline can be eaten or given as a gift all on their own, or they can be added to other sweets and baked goods. Either way the flavor is off the charts.
What are the best nuts for praline?
Praline can be made with all different kinds of nuts, but the most classic flavor is almond. I like to use thin toasted slivered almonds as they look lovely and lie nice and flat. The heat of the candy toasts the nut when they meet, too, and as it hardens the nuts set into the candy making for a really professional look.
Side note: You can add already roasted and even salted nuts into your candy and this will just add even more flavor.
Why won’t my praline set?
Even though praline has a caramel-like flavor and scent, it should in no way resemble caramel sauce or soft chewy caramel. The low fat content is very different than in its cousin caramel.
Just one tablespoon of butter is used in the base, too, which ensures it will in fact harden up while still being slightly rich and creamy like Werther’s style hard candy. If your praline doesn’t set, either you used the wrong amount of butter or perhaps it is a very humid day as moisture in the air can affect the setting of your praline.
Does praline need to be refrigerated?
Since praline is a hard cooked candy, it is best stored at room temperature in a cool and dry place. You don’t want the praline to come in contact with moisture, so I suggest covering and storing in an airtight container.
Another awesome thing about my homemade praline is that it will keep for quite some time. I love to keep praline in my kitchen if I can, but I find it never lasts very long ;).
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How to Make Praline
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2oz/213g) slivered almonds
- 2 cups (16oz/450g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon (1/2oz/14g) butter
- 1/2 cup (4floz/115ml) water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place almonds on a baking sheet, and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Butter the parchment. Set aside for later.
- In a medium sauce pan, combine the sugar and water over medium-low heat. Allow the sugar to dissolve and once it does you can then bring the mix to a simmer. Brush down the sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystals from forming.
- Simmer without stirring until the caramel is deep amber in color, roughly 10-15 minutes.
- Straight away turn off the heat and add in the butter and almonds, coating them in caramel.
- Immediately pour the praline onto the prepared baking sheet. Be careful not to touch the caramel.
- Once hardened break into pieces and either eat as-is or add it to my Homemade Praline Fudge (COMING SOON!). Store the praline in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Gemma!
I don’t know what I did wrong. My sugar did not turn an amber color and started forming crystals on top of the simmering sugar water.
Fearing the worst, after 25 minutes of watching it like a hawk, I stirred with a butter and nuts but the entire sugar mixture had already turned into a fluffy, grainy/sandy texture. It’s now on a pan, but I wonder if I can save it somehow?
Where did I go wrong?
So sad :'(
Your recipe yields a result that is more like brittle than praline. In the South, the praline is a softer texture, it will “break”, but it offers little resistance with no discernible “crack” sound, in other words. I think your recipe goes beyond the hard crack stage which makes it a brittle.
This is “brittle” not praline.
can I use brown sugar instead?
In India we call this chikie and we put peanuts and use Jaggery instead of sugar
Hi Gemma,
I’m making a coffee dessert and would like to decorate with the praline, would it work out if I added abit of coffee powder whilst simmering along with other ingredients?
Also, can you pls advice on the measurements for half of the original receipy.
Thanks 🙂
Thanks 😊
Hello! My sugar looked good and amber and clear until I added the butter and nuts. It immediately foamed and crystallized when I did that. Why is this? (Btw I just blitzed it in a food processor and used the powder to flavor buttercream which was heavenly so not a complete loss).
Hi! can I use coconut oil or peanut butter instead the regular butter? I don’t eat butter (nor regular neither vegan). Thanks in advance from Argentina!
Hi Gemma can you use pecans instead of almonds in your praline recipe?