Italian Nougat

The perfect edible gift to make at Christmas.

• edible rice paper, to line tin
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup or glucose syrup
• ½ cup honey, eg blue borage
• pinch salt
• ¼ cup water
• 2 medium egg whites (not large eggs)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cups mixed nuts, eg almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts, shelled and toasted, skins rubbed off

Line the base and sides of a 33 x 22 cm baking tin with tinfoil and then edible rice paper.

Place sugar, corn syrup, honey, salt and water in a deep pot and heat over low temperature until sugar is dissolved. Boil to 120°C then take off heat.

While mixture boils, beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly add about ¾ cup of the hot syrup, beating constantly, until the mixture holds its shape – about 5 minutes. Cook remaining syrup over high heat to 157°C (brittle thread). It will turn a rich caramel colour.

Add vanilla and nuts to meringue. Pour syrup into the meringue, beating it as the syrup is added. Continue beating until very thick, 2 minutes. Working quickly, spoon mixture into prepared baking tin and spread evenly.You can put on rubber gloves and mould the mixture to make it easier as the mixture will be very thick and sets quickly.  Cover with rice paper, cool then cut into squares.

An airtight container is essential for storing this sweet treat. Edible rice paper is available from specialty food shops.