Making Almond Nougatine

For the almond nougatine, I use diced almonds from Provence, sugar, and a few drops of natural vanilla extract.

I heat the sugar and vanilla over a flame in a small pan for 5 minutes. When the sugar has melted, I heat the caramel to 145 degrees, testing the result with a spatula. I carefully sprinkle in the almonds and stir gently. Little by little, a compact ball forms.

Then I pour this boiling hot nougatine onto a slab of marble covered with a sheet of silicon. I spread out the nougatine with a stainless steel cylinder, which weighs 6 kg in order to flatten the mass well. While the mass is hot and malleable, I can give it the form that I wish. For example, at Easter-time, I create nougatine eggs of all sizes, nougatine eggs decorated with (je ne sais pas ce que c'est friture dans ce context...) and pieces of candied orange, egg halves decoreated with (friture?).

I create nouagtine dishes, which I fill with my candied fruits.