Nougat - the perfect Christmas food gift

So, I've barely been back in the UK for more than a week and a half, and I've already got a huge amount of cooking and baking under my belt. It being Christmas of course, a time for baking and eating, I was due to do something indulgent and luxurious. And due to complications with my family's plans and my husband's work schedule, it meant that I was going to cook the whole of Christmas dinner for myself and Sam. This was a great opportunity to practice my non-cake making skills, and a great chance to make Christmas dinner exactly how I like it! In general, I would say, don't substitute the goose fat for roasting anything - it really is the best thing for fluffy, yet crunchy potatoes, and you may as well splurge out on it at Christmas - and I also discovered a brilliant recipe on the BBC Good Food page to spice up your carrots that will have even vegetable-phobic people asking for more!
But getting back on track to the Christmas theme, I've been dying to try out making my own nougat at home ever since I got my fabulous Kenwood kMix as a wedding present:

Most recipes I've read recommend not to attempt this recipe without a free-standing mixer because the mixture has to be beaten for a long time (10 - 15 minutes) while it's very hot, and it gets very, very sticky. It gives any standard home kitchen mixer a real workout, when it gets going, it shakes quite a lot!

And Christmas seemed like the perfect opportunity to make these sweet treats, which also make a great Christmas present as they are easy to store and transport for when you go to visit friends and family. In addition, I found out that they were surprisingly easy to make! I used the recipe from the book America's Test Kitchen - DIY Cookbook, which is full of recipes of stuff you might never think you could do at home, like marshmallows, crisps, sauerkraut, cheeses, and so many other things, with really, really detailed instructions about all those little things that other cookbooks leave out, but that could make the difference between your recipe working or failing. In this book, they call the recipe torrone, but this is what I call nougat, so I'm sticking with this name.
The trick with this recipe is to get the sugar to the right temperature - about 146 degrees C - in order to get it to the hard-cracking stage. As always, I use my trusty laser thermometer to get the syrup to the right ball park temperature, before using a small bowl of cold water to test when the sugar is at exactly the right stage. You know when its ready when it instantaneously form hard threads when dropped in the water, which crack when bent. This is the highest temperature that sugar can reach before it starts burning, so be careful you don't overheat, otherwise you will get a bitter, charcoal taste.

Ingredients:

2 - 3 edible wafer/rice papers

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
a dash of lemon juice (optional)

1/2 cup or 120 ml (roughly 176 g) honey

14 ounces or 400 g sugar (white is better for this, as the impurities in unrefined or brown sugar affect the melting point of the sugar, which is critical for this recipe, and also make it harder to judge when the sugar is ready)

1/8 teaspoon salt

7 ounces or 200 g nuts, such as shelled pistachios or almonds (most recipes use double this amount, but I don't like to overload my nougat with too many nuts.
100 g dried cranberries or craisins for a really Christmassy feel! But if you choose to add these, or any other dried fruits, don't soak them before using, because the extra moisture may affect the consistency of the finished nougat.

1. Line an 8 inch square or 10 x 7 inch cake tin with edible rice paper. Heat the oven to 190 degrees C. Place the egg whites into a bowl or stand mixer with a dash of lemon juice and cream of tartar if desired.
2. Pour the honey into the pan and then place the sugar and salt into the centre, and try to avoid letting the sugar touch the sides of the pan. Heat for about five minutes until everything is dissolved and the mixture starts to boil. At this point, reduce the heat and mix only by gently swirling the pan. If any sugar crystallizes around the edges, wash these down with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. When the sugar reaches 125 degrees, start to whisk the egg whites.
3. When the mixture turns a dark amber colour and hits about 143 - 146 degrees C, remove from the heat and let the bubbles subside. By this point, the egg whites should have reached medium peaks.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and start to add the hot sugar syrup pouring slowly. After all the syrup is added, increase the speed again, and leave to whip until very thick, pale and stiff, for about 10 - 12 minutes.

Pouring the hot sugar syrup into the whipped egg whites in the mixer

The mixture will get very thick as it cools, and start to form a ball around the whisk. Don't worry, this is normal. Try to scrape down the sides one or two times if you can. 

5. During this time, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and heat in the oven for about 3 - 4  minutes, until lightly toasted. Take the nuts out from the oven and leave on the baking sheet until the egg whites are ready. Keeping them on the sheet means that the nuts stay warm and don't cause the nougat to cool down too quickly when added.
6. Reduce the mixer to low when the egg white, sugar syrup mix is thick and stiff, and add the vanilla and nuts. The mixture sets quickly as it cools down, so work quickly with a greased silicone spatula to scoop out the nougat into the prepared tin. Be careful when handling the mixer bowl, because it gets very hot during the process (asbestos hands are a plus here). Place another piece of edible rice paper and then a sheet of baking parchment on top, and press down on the nougat with another dish, rolling pin or something to help flatten the mixture. Leave to cool at room temperature, for about 1 hour. After that, it can also be refrigerated for a few hours.
7. Discard the baking parchment from the top and turn out onto a cutting board. Trim off the excess rice paper, and then slice according to your desired shape. At this point, the nougat is very stiff and sticky, and you need a very strong and sharp knife with a lot of strength to cut nicely. 

I stored my nougat in a box at room temperature and it lasted well for a couple of days before it all disappeared! It can also be stored in the refrigerator and should last up to two weeks (if there are any left!)

The pistachios can be replaced with hazelnuts, blanched almonds, or any other nuts of your choice, and dried fruit such as cranberries, candied orange or lemon peel can also be added.