Praline

How to Incorporate Praline into Your Cooking?

You can use it to enhance your favorite desserts or even add a special touch to your savory dishes. Try incorporating it into your baking recipes such as brownies, cookies, or cupcakes for an irresistible hazelnut flavor.

A Few Recipe Ideas for Cooking with Praline

• - Praline Tart: Use praline paste as a base for a tart filling, spreading it onto a prepared tart crust. Top with fresh fruits or chocolate for an extra flavor boost;
• - Praline Brownies: Add swirls of praline paste to brownie batter before baking for a indulgent version of this classic dessert;
• - Praline Ice Cream: Incorporate praline paste into your homemade ice cream base to create a rich and creamy ice cream with crunchy praline pieces;
• - Praline Stuffed Cookies: Make chocolate chip cookies and insert a small spoonful of praline paste into the center before baking for cookies with a gooey praline center;
• - Praline Truffles: Mix praline paste with melted chocolate and heavy cream to form a ganache. Roll the ganache into small balls, then roll them in cocoa powder, chopped nuts, or powdered sugar.

The Sweetness of Praline

Praline emanates a delightful fragrance of hazelnuts and almonds. Its aroma is both comforting and indulgent, reminiscent of the simple pleasures of homemade cooking.

Regarding Tree Nuts

Hazelnuts come from the shrub Corylus avellana, a small tree in the Betulaceae family. These shrubs produce both male and female catkins on the same plant, allowing for cross-pollination and hazelnut production. Almonds, on the other hand, come from the almond tree, Prunus dulcis, which belongs to the Rosaceae family. These trees produce white or pink flowers in early spring, followed by hulls that contain the almonds. Both hazelnuts and almonds are nuts appreciated for their delicate flavor and nutritious properties.

The Birth of Praline

The term "praline" originates around 1680 and is associated with the name of César de Choiseul du Plessis-Praslin, an ambassador of Louis XIII, who reportedly tasked his chef Clément Lassagne with creating this delicacy. It is said that while observing one of his assistants scraping off melted sugar remnants, Lassagne was inspired to create "prasline." Subsequently, Marshal de Choiseul retired to Montargis, where he established the House of Praline.