Dried Fruit Nougats Recipes

Steps:

• Combine all dried fruits in a food processor until almost pastelike. Mix in honey, juice, and cocoa. Cover. Refrigerate until chilled. Roll into 36 1 1/4-inch balls.

Steps:

• To make the praline, combine the sugar and water in a sauce pan and cook mixture, stirring and washing down any sugar crystals with a brush dipped in water, until mixture is clear. Let it cook, undisturbed, until deep golden.
• To caramelized sugar add the hazelnuts. Stir to coat.
• Oil a marble slab. Pour the mixture onto the marble, smooth it into even layer and let it cool completely. Once cooled, chop into approximately 1/4- inch pieces.
• To make the Italian meringue, combine in a pan the sugar, lavender honey, and the water. Cook it following same procedure as for praline, until a candy thermometer registers hard ball stage 248 degrees.
• Beat 3 egg whites to soft peaks. With machine running add, in a stream, the cooked sugar syrup. Beat until completely cool.
• Macerate 1 1/2 cups dried cherries in 1/4 cup kirsch for 30 minutes. Then drain over a bowl Whip 2 cups heavy cream.
• Fold half the praline, half the drained cherries and half the whipped cream into the meringue. Then do it again. Transfer to an 8 cup terrine, lined with plastic wrap. Cover mold with plastic wrap and freeze overnight. Unmold, remove the plastic wrap, and slice.

Steps:

• Spray a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with vegetable cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with waxed paper, allowing the paper to overhang by 2-inches on each side. Lightly spray the waxed paper inside the pan.
• In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and honey over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer, and cook until the syrup turns amber and registers 315 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• While the syrup is cooking, in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks, about 2 minutes.
• With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites. Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is very thick, about 7 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Fold in 1/2 of the apricots. Using a spatula sprayed with cooking spray, scrape the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining apricots on top. Fold the overhanging pieces of waxed paper onto the surface of the mixture. Refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Remove the waxed paper from the nougat and discard. Using a knife sprayed with cooking spray, cut the nougat in half lengthwise. Cut each half into 8 pieces. Dip 1 end of the nougat into the melted chocolate and place on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.