6.14.16
As I’ve said in the past, I love a challenge. Especially one I don’t see coming. When I was asked to make spicy brittle for the Texas themed show, Lone Star Spirits, I figured no sweat! Until I looked into making brittle, and realized that it’s a candy, and is a really finicky thing to accomplish. I was a little scared, but a promise is a promise, so I began my brittle journey, never looking back.
The one thing about making brittle that you have to have, trust. Wait, and one more thing, a candy thermometer. So two things, you need two things. Trust: you’re going to want to pull that bubbling sugar off the heat early because you’re scared it will burn, DON’T. You MUST let it get to 300° or it will not be hard candy and will easily begin to melt in your hand when eating it. Which brings me to the second thing, a candy thermometer. If you don’t own one, suck it up and go to Bed, Bath and Beyond and invest your $5 in buying one. It’s the only tried and true way to make sure your brittle has reached the ‘hard crack’ stage.
For the Spicy Cashew Brittle
And once your brittle hits 300° immediately remove it from the heat, it can burn quickly. This is not something you can really walk away from when making it.
If you choose to replace the cashews with peanuts, they can be added earlier in the boiling process since they’re a harder nut. Softer nuts like cashews, such as walnuts or pecans still need to be added towards the end of cooking, around 280-290° since they can easily burn.
And now you’ve made brittle and your thermometer, wooden spoon, and pan are encrusted with hardened sugar. Ugh, this will take forever to clean. No. It won’t. Throw the wooden spoon and thermometer into the used pot, then simply boil another pot of hot water and carefully pour the boiling water into the one encrusted with sugar. Allow it to sit for a while and once it’s cool, your spoon and thermometer will be clean, and as you pour the water out, all the softened candy from the pot will go with it.
Baking soda is the crucial ingredient to add those bubbles. In the last batch I made it came out so perfect that it just snapped apart when I was making it. I got scared because it was so easy to break and thought ‘oh man this came out really……brittle…..oh wait……’
If you live in the NYC area and you want a taste of this AND some great theatre, get your tush down to the Lower East Side and see Lone Star Spirits, the first full production of Crowded Outlet. You can buy ticket in advance here, it plays through Sunday the 19th, so you still have plenty of chances to check it out!!!
Did you notice that this was a no-mixer-needed recipe? Stay tuned, you’ll get another one of those this week before the obvious no-mixer Mug Cake!
Spicy Cashew Brittle
Ingredients
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1 1/2 cup cashew pieces
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, sliced into tbsp increments
- 1 Tbsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes
- 1/4 cup water
- coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicon baking mat, parchment paper, or greased with butter
- In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, mix corn syrup, sugar, and water and bring to a boil
- Snap candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan and carefully monitor temperature
- Once mixture reaches 280 degrees, add in sliced butter (for more even melting), swirl pan if needed
- At 290 degrees add in cashews
- At 300 degrees immediately remove from heat and add in baking soda, stirring with a wooden spoon to ensure even distribution
- Carefully pour brittle onto rimmed baking sheet, allowing to spread, use a wooden spoon to spread out thicker areas
- Allow to sit for 2 minutes, then sprinkle chili flakes and salt on top and place in refrigerator to harden
- Chill for at least one hour before cracking with hands into pieces
- Brittle can be kept at room temperature, but if it’s hot out, prevent pieces from sticking together by keeping them in the fridge
P.S.
*To avoid burning sugar on the sides of your pan, use a pastry brush and wet the tip with water, gently brush down sugar on the sides of the pan
*Mixing the baking soda in at the end with a wooden spoon is fine, but once the mixture begins to heat and boil at the start, do not mix, if you feel like you must, use the handle of the pan to swirl
*Having all ingredients close at hand is key, since everything must be added so quickly and accurately, make sure to premeasure all ingredients
