Hazelnut bresilienne are caramelised crunchy roasted hazelnut pieces. They take chopped nuts to the next level with a deep roasty, caramel flavour with a glassy and satisfying crunch. They are an amazing topping to ice cream, mousse, as a coating for a chocolate truffle or even just on its own. These are really delicious golden nuggets that pack a hazelnutty punch!

Ingredients

• 150g roasted skinned hazelnuts
• 75g sugar
• 10g water
• 15g butter
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Chop hazelnuts into small pieces.

Cut hazelnut in half, then into quarters. Cut each quarter in 3 pieces. Each piece should be about 5mm in size.

Place chopped pieces into a sieve to strain out the tiny pieces.

2. Caramelise the nuts

Put water and sugar into a pan and bring to a boil to make a syrup.

Pour the hazelnut into the syrup and stir continuously with a silicone spatula until the sugar has caramelised. The syrup will crystallise and look white at first, but will eventually turn into caramel as you continue to stir.

Once caramelised, take off the heat and mix in butter and salt until incorporated evenly.

3. Cool and divide into pieces.

Spread the mixture onto a silicone or baking sheet and let cool completely. While the mixture is still hot, try to divide the pieces as much as possible with the spatula.

Once the caramelised nuts are completely cool, rub the larger chunks between your hands to break them up into individual pieces.