makes
60
prep
40 minutes
cook
20 minutes
difficulty
Mid
makes
60
serves
preparation
40
minutes
cooking
20
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 300 g macadamia nuts
- 125 g caster (superfine) sugar
- 25 ml water
- 10 g unsalted butter
- 300 g good-quality milk chocolate
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Place macadamias on a baking tray and roast until you achieve a light golden-brown colour. Remove from the oven and keep warm.
2. Place the water and sugar into a copper bowl over medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Wash down the sides of the bowl, if required, with a clean brush and water to remove any sugar crystals built up on the sides of the bowl. Heat the sugar syrup to 114°C, then add in the roasted macadamias while still warm.
3. Remove from the heat and stir the mixture until the sugar re-crystallises around the macadamias. Turn the heat back on and caramelise the sugar, stirring gently and individually coating each nut. Once caramelised, turn the heat off and add the butter, stirring until the nuts are evenly coated.
4. Separate each nut individually on a baking mat. Once cool, finely chop half of the nuts, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until required.
5. Melt the milk chocolate, tempering it if it contains cocoa butter. To temper the chocolate, place it in a plastic bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until you have 50% liquid and 50% pieces of chocolate. Stir it vigorously without additional heat until all the chocolate has melted. If you have some resistant buttons you can gently heat the chocolate with a hair dryer while stirring.
6. Dip the whole macadamias into the milk chocolate then roll in the chopped macadamias immediately after dipping. Once set, dip in the second layer of milk chocolate and place onto a tray lined with baking paper. Once set, you can store the macadamias in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
