How to Make Nut Praline and Praline Paste (With Any Nut!)

I love praline and praline paste with any nut in the world. It’s sweet, caramelised, crispy and a perfect addition to many savoury and sweet dishes. It can sound complicated, but the truth is that once you learn how to make it, you’re going to want to add it to everything all the time.

Making praline is pretty easy, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll even keep a stash. It’s really good in salads to give them a crispy touch. Of course, it’s also great in desserts like my crêpe cake, banana ice cream, chocolate mousse, etc. In this case, I made a hazelnut praline for my almond and chocolate cake, but you can use almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios… whichever you prefer! Also, once you have a perfectly caramelised praline, you can easily turn it into a paste with the help of a food processor or high-speed blender.

Once the praline is ready, you can chop it up using a knife (I personally prefer this). You could also use a food processor, depending on the size you want to chop it to. In general, I recommend that you chop it small so that you don’t break someone’s teeth. Of course, don’t chop it SO small that you barely feel it anymore. If you use a food processor, you can actually make a praline paste. It’s basically a nut butter made with caramel. It’s used in many sweet preparations!

How to keep praline

I recommend that you avoid placing praline in the fridge for a long period of time. If it’s in there for too long, the humidity will make it melt and lose its crispiness. It’s ideal to keep it at room temperature in an airtight container until it’s time to serve. Before serving, give the container a shake. This will divide the little pieces that tend to stick to each other a bit. Where it DOES stay really crispy is in the freezer, so feel free to add it to your favourite ice creams. If you’re making nut praline paste, you can also keep it at room temperature because of its high sugar content.

How to make homemade praline

To make praline and praline paste from any nut, you just need two ingredients: sugar and any nut you like. You will begin by making a dry caramel and then adding in the nuts. A dry caramel is when we caramelise sugar without the addition of water. This makes for a much quicker and easier process. As soon as you add the nuts to the caramel, you mix them in quickly and transfer the mix immediately onto a silpat or silicone mat. There it will cool down before we chop it to make a delicious crispy praline or turn it into a paste.

Turning it into a smooth paste

To turn nut praline into a praline paste, you need to transfer the caramel-coated nuts into a high-speed blender or food processor. Depending on the processor or blender, it will take 5-12 minutes to go from a praline powder to a smooth, creamy and delicious paste. In that process, the nuts will release their oils slowly, which will turn them basically into a nut butter with caramel. Doesn’t that sound delicious? The food processor I’m currently using is this one by Ninja. Praline paste is perfect for filling cakes, flavouring buttercreams, making chocolates and even for your homemade coffee latte!

How to make praline and praline paste with any nut

Praline and praline paste may sound like a complicated pastry technique. However, it's actually quite simple to make, and once you get the hang of it, you'll be making it with your eyes closed. You can use this same technique with any nut (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, pecans, cashews, etc).

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Keyword: hazelnuts, paste, pecans, pistachio, praline

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 200 g praline or praline paste

Author: Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal

Ingredients

• 100 g granulated sugar
• 100 g any type of nut hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, etc.

Instructions

• *WARNING* Caramel, even though it might not look like it, is really hot. Be careful not to burn yourself and keep kids away while you make it.
• For the caramel, sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on the pan. Make sure that the pan is really clean before you start; if it has impurities or fat, it will crystalize the caramel. It helps also if your pan is of a light colour so you can see the caramel as it becomes darker. Place the pan over medium heat.
  
• When you see that the sugar is starting to melt around the edges and in other parts of the pan, lower the heat to medium-low and sprinkle more sugar over the melted regions, also in a thin layer. Don't use a utensil to stir at any point. If you need to give it a mix, do so by tilting and spinning the pan from the handle.
  
• The caramel will continue to melt. Control the heat so that it doesn't burn and if you need to stir do so with the handle of the pan.
• Once melted and golden, add your nuts and mix immediately. Transfer the caramel with the nuts carefully onto a silicone mat or silpat or greased pan.
  
• Let it cool down completely and then chop it up or process it.
• If you want to make a praline paste, transfer the cooled-down praline to a food processor or a high-power blender. Start it on slow and let it first become grounded. Then, you can speed it up slowly as the nuts release their oils. Keep processing until you get a paste. This can take 5-12 minutes depending on your processor or blender.

Tried this recipe?Mention @CravingsJournal or tag #RecipeCJ!