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Written by Isabella Berkoff
•Posted on February 01 2023
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Intermediate
(1) 9x13" Sheet pan
Hannah Gray
Scrumptious strawberry flavor and a silky smooth texture! This Chocolate Covered Strawberry Nougat recipe is one you'll want to save for years to come. Perfect for Valentine's Day!
Some notes before getting started:
Nougat is broken down into three parts while cooking. All of these go together during the same cooking process, but you have to do them in the correct order to get the desired finished product. You start with your egg white meringue.
1. Egg white meringue:
Don't be intimidated by this! You combine glucose syrup and egg whites in your mixer, but don't start mixing yet.
2. Syrup Slurry:
This syrup cooks up nicely in about 25 minutes. You do need a candy thermometer and will have to stir the whole time. Is it important to pay attention while it's cooking, because you start to whip your egg whites BEFORE you hit your final temperature. Once you hit the final temperature, you stream the hot syrup into the whipping egg whites.
3. Fats, Flavors, Finishers
Donut sugar, liquid coconut oil, and Strawberry Flavor Paste! This is what gives the nougat its personality.
100g (⅓ Cup) Glucose syrup
2 Egg whites
300g (1 ½ Cups) White sugar
250g (¾ Cup) Glucose syrup
360g (1 Cup) Water
3g (¾ Tsp) Salt
180g (½ Cup) Strawberry Purée
200g (1 ½ Cups) Donut Sugar
8g (3 Tsp) Strawberry Flavoring
50g (¼ Cup) Coconut oil, liquid at room temperature
2 lbs Perla Dark Chocolate
5 Quart Planetary Mixer (Single motor and a stationary bowl - most stand mixers and commercial mixers)
9 x 13” Sheet pan
Glass bowl for chocolate tempering and dipping
Please note that the cooking process for nougat is very specific and needs to be done in the exact order described below in order to achieve the desired result.
In a 5 quart planetary mixing bowl, combine glucose syrup and egg whites. Mix on low for 20 seconds to combine the glucose syrup and egg whites. Turn off mixer.
In a heavy duty, thick bottomed pot, combine sugar, glucose syrup, water, salt, and strawberry purée. Turn heat to medium and begin stirring. You will stir this whole time.
Once the syrup is mixed together and the sugar has started to dissolve, turn the heat to medium high. Leave it on medium high the entire cooking process.
When syrup reaches 234°F, turn your mixer speed to high. Continue to cook and stir your syrup as the egg white meringue whips.
Cook syrup mixture to 256°F. Turn off heat. Leave the 5 quart mixer on high.
With the egg whites whipping, slowly stream syrup slurry into the egg whites. You need to do this slowly so it does not collapse the meringue.
Once all of the syrup has been incorporated, mix on high for four additional minutes. Turn mixer to low speed.
Add in donut sugar, coconut oil, and Strawberry Flavor Paste. Mix on medium for 30 seconds to incorporate these ingredients. Turn off mixer.
Pour on prepared parchment.
Top with lightly oiled parchment, smoothing out top of nougat.
Let nougat rest for a minimum of 12 hours before cutting. *See recipe notes
Starting on the long side of your pan, cut strips of nougat ¾” long using a sharp, oiled knife or pizza cutter. Cut these strips into 2.5” pieces.
Wrap the pieces of nougat in parchment paper, wax paper, or cellophane candy wrappers. Wrappers should be 5”x5” in size.
Cut nougat into 1”x1” squares, using a sharp, oiled knife or pizza cutter. After you cut a square, place it on a lightly oiled piece of parchment paper before moving to the next square to cut.
Temper dark chocolate: melt ½ of your dark chocolate in a microwave safe glass bowl in 30 second intervals. Melt until chocolate is fluid and reaches 113°F. Add in half of the remaining chocolate, stirring until it melts. Add in remaining chocolate, stirring until it melts. Chocolate temperature should be between 90-94°F after all chocolate has been added.
First coat the bottom of the nougat square in the tempered dark chocolate. Do this by picking up the strawberry nougat square and sliding it along the spatula you used to temper your chocolate. ***See recipe notes
Place bottomed nougat on non-oiled parchment paper. Repeat until all nougat pieces have been bottomed.
Retemper chocolate if chocolate has cooled too much to fully dip nougat. You do not need to refrigerate nougat squares when you are retempering chocolate.
Fully dip strawberry nougat square into chocolate. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and allow to cool and harden. Do not refrigerate.
*Why does the nougat need to be rested? This nougat is grained - meaning it has a short texture. When you cut into it, the flow is very minimal and it retains its shape. The grain comes from the donut sugar. It needs 12 hours to rest to build that structure and work its magic in the candy.
**Chocolate Coating and Inversion and Acid: This nougat gets most of its soft texture from the strawberry purée. The strawberry purée is acidic, so it softens the cooked sugar mass quite a bit. If you are going to dip these in chocolate, Hannah recommends doing it within 48 hours of cooking (after the 12 hour rest period). After 48 hours, the centers will start to get slightly softer and stickier because of the sugar inversion caused by acid as well as pulling moisture from the air. If you need to, you can still cut and dip the nougat after the 48 hour mark, however it's easier to dip when fresh.
***Why is the bottoming process important? Bottoming is important because otherwise the nougat will stick to the dipping fork and you won't be able to get the piece of nougat off. The bottom provides a nice place for the dipping fork to sit and slide off of.
Storage Instructions: Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate. Shelf life is 4 months.
Want to see more of Hannah's innovative confectionery recipes? Check her out on Instagram @onesweeetmama, or visit her blog for more scrumptious recipes, scientific candy facts and more!
Have a recipe you'd like to share? We'd love to see your sweet style! Tag us on social @ifiProvisions with #PastryatHome for a chance to get featured across our social channels. Happy baking!
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