Torrone Nurzia

A soft chocolate nougat from L'Aquila, cut rather than snapped.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg.

Ingredients

• 400 g dark chocolate
• 300 g caster sugar
• 100 ml water
• 2 egg whites
• 350 g hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
• 40 g cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Boil the sugar and water to 140C.
2. Whisk the whites with the salt to stiff peaks and pour the syrup in down the side of the bowl, whisking, until the meringue is thick and glossy.
3. Melt the chocolate to 45C and fold it in with the cocoa. The mixture goes from white to dark brown and loosens noticeably.
4. THIS IS A SOFT TORRONE, NOT A HARD ONE. The chocolate's fat stops it setting brittle, so it is CUT with a knife and never snapped — the Cremona sort at 150C with no chocolate is the one that shatters.
5. Fold in the warm hazelnuts.
6. Press into a lined frame 3 cm deep, cover with paper, and weight it flat.
7. Leave it 12 hours at cool room temperature, NOT in the fridge — chilled, the chocolate blooms grey and the texture goes short. Cut with a warm knife.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes