This is a quick an easy candy recipe from Bon Appétit that all but the most food-risk-averse people would like. The curry powder adds a very subtle flavor to offset all that sugar.
I actually used dark corn syrup in this batch to good effect, if that’s what you have in the house, go head and use it for this recipe.
Doubling the recipe may work out better, because making it, as written, isn’t a very big batch.
One more note: you may need nitrile or latex-type gloves for part of this recipe. Please read through to the end to see if you’ll need to use them or not.
What you’ll need:
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
- 1 cup cashews
- 0.33 cups sugar
- 0.25 cups light corn syrup (or dark)
- 1t kosher salt
- 0.75t curry powder
- 1T unsalted butter (use fake butter to make it vegan)
- 0.75t baking soda
What to do:
Heat your oven to 350° F. Put a silicone baking mat or parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet and lightly coat it with cooking spray. On a separate rimmed baking sheet, toast the cashews in the oven, tossing once, until just beginning to brown, 5 – 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
While the cashews are cooling, over medium-high heat, bring the sugar, corn syrup, and 0.25 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan fitted with a thermometer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When it begins to boil, swirl the pan (not stir) occasionally until the thermometer registers 230° F.
Now add the salt, curry powder, and cashews and stir, making sure the cashews are completely coated and the salt and curry powder are evenly combined. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the thermometer registers 300° F. At that point, the caramel will be a deep golden brown and the cashews will be completely toasted.
Remove the pan from the heat and carefully stir in the butter and baking soda. Careful!, the caramel will bubble and foam.
After the butter is completely stirred in, immediately pour the mixture onto the prepared baking mat and let it cool slightly. Wearing disposable gloves (maybe even two pair), lift an edge of the baking mat and use it to fold mixture onto itself as if you were going to knead it. Continue working it like this for about a minute. This step will distribute the heat and incorporate air, resulting in a thin, crackly consistency.
As soon as the mixture begins to firm, stretch it out, making it thin in places, but keeping it in one piece. If you don’t feel like handling molten sugar, you could just pour the mixture onto the prepared sheet and spread it thin with a spatula. It will still turn out nicely.
Let the spread mixture cool, then crack it into whatever size pieces you like. It will keep for a week in an airtight container for up to a week.
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