The mixture should be quickly poured onto a well oiled surface, as it begins to harden as soon as you remove it from the stove. My sister recently sent me a signed copy of Nigella Lawson’s book “Nigella Christmas” (you can read the post I wrote about it over here) and I have been meaning to try some of the recipes in the book ever since.
Although the majority of them are Christmas based (just wait until the festive season & I’ll be making and posting about stacks of them !) there are a few which can be made and enjoyed all year round, like this recipe below for peanut brittle.
I had a large amount of ‘raw’ (unsalted & un roasted) cashew nuts in the house and decided to use them in place of the peanuts. I chopped them quite finely & toasted them in a pan on the stove top first - some of them burnt a little which is why you see the black flecks in the photograph – but the brittle still tasted fine !
So, aside from using cashew nuts in place of peanuts, I stuck to Nigella’s original recipe & have copied it word-for-word below – just incase you wondered as Nigella is known for her very descriptive and ‘flowery’ language and way of explaining things ! (The "Art" in the title of this recipe is due to the fact that Nigella got this recipe from Art Smith, & has adapted it slightly to make it her own).
Peanut Brittle with Art and Soul (from “Nigella Christmas” by Nigella Lawson)
200 gm Caster Sugar
60 ml Water
150 gm golden Syrup
150 gm salted Peanuts (I used Cashew nuts of this recipe)
1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
25 gm soft Butter
1 ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
Get out a large sheet of “Bake-O-Glide” and place on a baking sheet (or put some foil on the sheet and butter it). Sit it by the stove, waiting to receive the brittle once it’s ready to pour.
Put the sugar, water and syrup into a pan, bring to the boil gently, then turn up the heat and let it boil seriously for 10 minutes. It will be smoking by then, so be warned !
Take the pan off the heat and, with a wooden spoon, stir in the nuts, followed by the vanilla, butter and bicarbonate of soda. You will have a golden, frothy, hot and gooey mixture.
Pour this briskly onto the waiting parchment or foil, using your wooden spoon to coax and pull it to make a nut-studded sheet, puddle-shaped though it may be, rather than a heap.
Leave it to cool, then break into pieces and store in an airtight container or box; or bag up to give at once as presents. You’ll get around 400 gm (just under 1 lb) in total.
Although the majority of them are Christmas based (just wait until the festive season & I’ll be making and posting about stacks of them !) there are a few which can be made and enjoyed all year round, like this recipe below for peanut brittle.
I had a large amount of ‘raw’ (unsalted & un roasted) cashew nuts in the house and decided to use them in place of the peanuts. I chopped them quite finely & toasted them in a pan on the stove top first - some of them burnt a little which is why you see the black flecks in the photograph – but the brittle still tasted fine !
So, aside from using cashew nuts in place of peanuts, I stuck to Nigella’s original recipe & have copied it word-for-word below – just incase you wondered as Nigella is known for her very descriptive and ‘flowery’ language and way of explaining things ! (The "Art" in the title of this recipe is due to the fact that Nigella got this recipe from Art Smith, & has adapted it slightly to make it her own).
Peanut Brittle with Art and Soul (from “Nigella Christmas” by Nigella Lawson)
200 gm Caster Sugar
60 ml Water
150 gm golden Syrup
150 gm salted Peanuts (I used Cashew nuts of this recipe)
1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
25 gm soft Butter
1 ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
Get out a large sheet of “Bake-O-Glide” and place on a baking sheet (or put some foil on the sheet and butter it). Sit it by the stove, waiting to receive the brittle once it’s ready to pour.
Put the sugar, water and syrup into a pan, bring to the boil gently, then turn up the heat and let it boil seriously for 10 minutes. It will be smoking by then, so be warned !
Take the pan off the heat and, with a wooden spoon, stir in the nuts, followed by the vanilla, butter and bicarbonate of soda. You will have a golden, frothy, hot and gooey mixture.
Pour this briskly onto the waiting parchment or foil, using your wooden spoon to coax and pull it to make a nut-studded sheet, puddle-shaped though it may be, rather than a heap.
Leave it to cool, then break into pieces and store in an airtight container or box; or bag up to give at once as presents. You’ll get around 400 gm (just under 1 lb) in total.
