This is an easy step by step guide with photos on ‘how to make brittle’ at home with your favourite nuts or sesame seeds.
Beautiful homemade candy
Can you believe the first time I tried making brittle it was perfect? It made me cocky and I thought making brittle was super easy, that was until my second, third and fourth attempt was a massive fail.
Yes, I did stomp my feet in frustration and at times came so close to throwing the ugly failed brittle against my kitchen wall.
Failing in the kitchen is good for me now and again because it forces me to spend time researching and studying different recipes and methods to help me successfully make it correctly. As much as I hate failing, it’s the best way to learn and pick up crucial mistakes. Success comes down to understanding and respecting a dish.
You won’t get stuck making it 3 times incorrectly like I did because I have included helpful tips below. It’s not that hard to create beautiful buttery caramelised brittle.
There’s so much you can do with brittle!
Brittles add flair and texture to any dessert, making it look sophisticated and stunning. You could either crack it into artsy shards or grind it for a delicious garnish. Who can say no to some crunchy nutty sweetness!
These candies are great for gifting, just throw them in a clear bag, tie a fancy ribbon and you’ll look like a superstar! Or you can do what Tomasi, my husband, loves doing and eat them as a snack.
These brittles are hard but thin enough to bite into without having to break a tooth.
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Don’t fail 3 times as I did
I rarely make candies in my kitchen. Why? because it’s tedious, messy and a damn candy thermometer is needed. Even after all that, there’s no guarantee that the damn mixture won’t crystallise resulting in awful grainy candies.
If it’s stuffed up, there won’t be any beautiful candies to show off, and yet we have the dreadful task of washing up that messy sticky failed brittle.
So let me share what I have learned with my fails with you so your first time will be successful.
My nuts and sesame seeds were distributed unevenly in the brittle as was mixing with one hand and taking photos with the other.
My tips for making brittle
Read and understand the recipe before commencing. Once the sugar syrup has turned amber and golden there is no room for stopping to check the recipe. The temperature drops so fast so you have to move quickly when stirring the butter, mixing the nuts and pouring it onto the baking paper. I stopped to take photos of the steps, by the time I added the nuts the mixture began hardening and the nuts would not mix in.
Be precise with the measurements of the ingredients. If you’re like me and hate measuring during cooking, take the time to do so with this recipe as it’s crucial to the overall results.
Use the flat surface of the kitchen table and not a tray. To my eyes, my tray looks flat but when I poured the hot sugar syrup down it didn’t spread evenly. Once the brittle was set I ended up having extra thin and thick brittle shards. So instead of a tray I laid non-stick baking paper on the kitchen bench and secured the edges with my mugs, I also lightly sprayed it with oil all over. This made the thickness of the brittle even and perfect.
Cut the butter into little cubes so it’s faster to melt once it’s added to the sugar syrup. If you’re using big nuts such as pecan on walnuts you may want to chop it up for a better result. I also recommending roasting your own nuts or sesame seeds for the best taste.
Use a small to a medium heavy-based saucepan
It also helps that the saucepan is not in black or dark colour as you’ll need to see the colour of the sugar syrup when it’s heating up.
Do not disturb the sugar mixture. Once you add the sugar and water into the saucepan to do not stir it. In the first few minutes, you can gently swirl the pan so the sugar distributes evenly but after this do not disturb the sugar whilst it’s heating. Stirring encourages sugar crystals to form which can make the brittle grainy.
Start on low heat first when melting the sugar and increase to medium once the sugar has fully dissolved. This help prevents sugar crystals from forming.
There is no need for a sugar thermometer. I made the mistake of buying an expensive $40 cooking thermometer when I should’ve relied on my instincts. If anything, the thermometer deterred my attention when I should be monitoring the mixture. The colour and the smell of the sugar will let you when it’s ready. I like to let the sugar caramelise a little longer because I love that slightly bitter toffee taste, but be careful as it could burn very easily at this stage.
Ingredients needed for brittle
Caster sugar is also known as ‘superfine sugar’ or ‘baker’s sugar’. It has a finer consistency than white or granulated sugar but it isn’t the same as powdered sugar (also known as confectionary or icing sugar)
Nuts or sesame seeds – You can use your favourite nuts or sesame seeds, either way, I highly recommend taking the time to roast them. Roasting will intensify the nutty flavour and make it aromatic. If you are using big nuts such as pecans or walnuts you’ll need to chop them up.
Butter – use good quality butter or butter that you enjoy the taste of.
How to make brittle
Step by step guide with photos
Cover the kitchen benchtop with two layers of good quality non-stick baking paper, it should be 30cm (12in) in length. If the edges curls in our up, use mugs on each corner to hold it down. Lightly spray a heatproof spatula and the baking paper with oil.
In a small to medium heavy-based saucepan add in the sugar and the water, do not stir. Place the saucepan on low heat until the sugar has dissolved (it’ll look translucent and small bubbles will appear at the base) then increase the heat to medium. Without disturbing the mixture, let the syrup bubble away but watch it carefully as soon as it reaches a nice golden amber colour and it smells like toffee take it quickly off the stove. If using a thermometer it’ll reach this stage between 165°C – 170°C (330°F – 340°F).
Quickly mix in the butter and nuts (or sesame seeds)
Working quickly, add the butter to the saucepan and stir quickly with the spatula until the butter has completely melted and the sugar syrup is no longer foamy. Add in the nuts or sesame seeds, give it a quick stir and pour the mixture onto the baking paper. Don’t scrape the leftover sugar mixture out of the saucepan as this may cause your brittle to crystallise. Leave the brittle to cool and set completely on the baking baker, then break it into shards.
Leftovers – Place brittle in an airtight container and store it at room temperature, it’ll keep up to 2 weeks.
Brittle would add a lovely dimension to my Giant Pancake With Lemon or to the already delicious Ginger and banana bread,
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
BRITTLE
Ingredients
- 220 gm caster sugar (NOTE 1)
- 60 ml water
- 18 gm unsalted butter (NOTE 2)
- 40 gm roasted nuts (or 2 tbsp of roasted sesame seeds) (NOTE 3)
- oil spray to grease
Instructions
- Cover the kitchen benchtop with two layers of good quality non-stick baking paper, it should be 30cm (12in) in length. If the edges curls in our up, use mugs on each corner to hold it down. Lightly spray a heatproof spatula and the baking paper with oil.
- In a small to medium heavy-based saucepan add in the sugar and the water, do not stir. Place the saucepan on low heat until the sugar has dissolved (it'll look translucent and small bubbles will appear at the base) then increase the heat to medium. Without disturbing the mixture, let the syrup bubble away but watch it carefully as soon as it reaches a nice golden amber colour and it smells like toffee take it quickly off the stove. If using a thermometer it'll reach this stage between 165°C – 170°C (330°F – 340°F)
- Working quickly, add the butter to the saucepan and stir quickly with the spatula until the butter has completely melted and the sugar syrup is no longer foamy. Add in the nuts or sesame seeds, give it a quick stir and pour the mixture onto the baking paper. Don't scrape the leftover sugar mixture out of the saucepan as this may cause your brittle to crystallise. Leave the brittle to cool and set completely on the baking baker, then break it into shards.
