Easy Praline Paste Recipe (Almond or Hazelnut praline paste)

Making the dry caramel

1. Line a baking pan with parchment paper OR a silpat, and keep it ready next to the stove. Ideally, keep a heat-resistant trivet or pad under the baking pan to protect your countertop.
2. You will need to use a stainless steel pan to make the dry caramel. Ideally, a pan that is about 8 - 12 inches wide. Wider the pan, the faster the sugar will melt and caramelize. Make sure the pan is completely clean and dry. There should be no fat residue or water in the pan.
3. Sprinkle the sugar in an even layer over the surface at the bottom of the pan. Then put the pan on your stove over medium heat.
4. Do NOT leave the sugar unattended as this process will happen fairly quickly and you need to keep an eye on the sugar.
5. Let the sugar cook on the stove. After a few minutes, the sugar that is in contact with the bottom of the pan should start to melt.
6. Gently move the sugar around in the pan using a heat-resistant spatula (clean and dry), and shake the pan so that the unmelted sugar can come into contact with the bottom of the pan and melt.
7. The dry sugar will clump with the melted sugar, and that’s OK. Keep cooking the sugar while gently moving the sugar around to melt it. This sugar is VERY HOT, so please make sure that it does not come into contact with your skin.
8. The sugar will go from a colorless liquid to a golden color. Mix the sugar with the spatula to break up the lumps so that it'll cook and caramelize evenly. Remove the pan from the heat if needed to control the heat.
9. The sugar should be almost lump free and golden in color. Keep cooking the sugar until it turns a light amber color. This will happen very quickly so keep an eye on it.
10. As soon as the sugar turns a light amber color, remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the sugar over the parchment paper or silpat that is on the baking sheet.
11. The caramel will darken a little from residual heat. This is why you remove the caramel from the heat when it's a shade lighter than the final caramel stage that you desire for this recipe. You can remove the caramel from the heat even earlier if you want an even lighter colored caramel.
12. Set it aside at room temperature to allow the caramel to set up and harden.

Preparing the nuts

1. Try to use nuts that are already skinned for convenience. However, if you can only find nuts with the skin on, see recipe notes below on how to remove the skin from the nuts.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Line a half sheet baking tray with parchment paper or a silpat.
3. Spread out the nuts in an even layer on the parchment paper-lined baking tray.
4. When the oven is preheated, roast the nuts in the oven for 8 - 15 minutes, while moving the nuts around 2 - 3 times to make sure they are toasting evenly.
5. The time will vary depending on the size of the nuts. You will know the nuts have roasted when you can clearly smell the roasted nuts when you open the oven door, and the nuts have darkened to a slightly darker shade in color than before.
6. Remove the nuts from the oven and let them cool slightly.

Making the praline paste

1. Ideally, you want to use a high powered food processor or blender for this step.
2. Once the caramel is hardened, break it into smaller pieces. Use a sturdy and heavy item to break the caramel into smaller pieces. Place these small pieces in the bowl of your food processor.
3. Place the roasted nuts and the salt in the food processor along with the caramel pieces. The nuts can be at room temperature or slightly warm.
4. Process the nuts and caramel until they are all very finely chopped. This can take about 1 minute at high speed (depends on your food processor or blender).
5. Process the mixture for about 3 - 5 minutes, taking breaks to check on the praline paste. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the food processor in between to ensure everything is evenly blending.
6. The praline paste will go through several stages. First stage - Finely chopped. Second stage - Rough and grainy paste that is still fairly dry. Third stage - Thick, sticky paste.Fourth stage - Smoother paste, and still quite thick. Fifth stage - Smooth paste that is very thin in consistency.You can choose which stage you prefer for your praline paste to be at. I recommend at least stage 3 (depending on your preference). Please see pictures in the post for reference.
7. When the praline paste has been processed to your liking, scrape the paste into a clean, dry container or jar with an air-tight lid. If you know that you will not be using all the praline at once, make sure to store the praline in two separate containers.
8. Praline paste will last in the fridge for about 4 - 5 months IF it's stored properly (no contamination and no prolonged time at room temperature). Anything extra can be stored in the freezer for up to 18 months (without thawing and refreezing).