Praline feuilletine is a crunchy cake base used in fancy dessert recipes.
Feuilletines are crispy wafers that give the cake base it’s crunchy texture.
Feuilletines are made by mixing together equal parts egg whites, flour, icing sugar, and butter and baking it in the oven until it’s golden brown.
The feuilletine is then broken up into small pieces that will be mixed into the cake base.
Praline paste is made by creating a caramel sauce, and then adding in roasted hazelnuts at the end of the caramel making process.
The caramel and hazelnuts are blended together until it creates a paste. The praline flavor gives the cake base a nutty and caramel flavor.
Melted chocolate brings this cake base together. You can use white chocolate, dark chocolate, or a combination if you like.
Praline Feuilletine Recipe
Materials
Feuilletine
- 1/4 cup egg whites
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup icing sugar
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Praline Paste
- 35 g water
- 100 g sugar granulated
- 100 g hazelnuts roasted
- pinch salt
Chocolate
- 210 g milk chocolate
Instructions
Feuilletine
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together icing sugar and flour until well combined.
- Add egg whites, and whisk together until it's completely mixed through.
- Add melted butter to the bowl and whisk together again until it's fully combined.
- Line a half sheet sized baking sheet with parchment paper. You can always use 2 – quarter sized baking sheets if you don't have a half sheet.
- Place the mixture into the baking pan. Using a brush, spread the mixture out as thin as possible. This creates the crispy texture. If it's too thick it won't crisp up in the oven. It will be more squishy than crispy.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes at 325 degrees F. It should golden brown when it's finished.
- Let the feuilletine cool fully. Then break up into pieces. Set aside.
Praline Paste
- Roasted ~100 g of hazelnuts at 360 °F for 15 minutes. Let the nuts cool to room temperature. Remove the skins by rubbing the cooled down nuts in your hands until most of the skins have come off. Remove as much of the skins as possible off of the hazelnuts.
- In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar over low – medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and begins boiling. Stop stirring the saucepan and let it boil on its own. Turn down the heat and let it boil on low (1-2).
- The sugar will go through transformations as it becomes caramel. The sugar will begin to form crystals and be completely dry in the saucepan.
- The sugar crystals will begin to melt and become a golden brown color. When it's turning a bit darker of a color, it's time to take it off the heat. You don't want to burn the caramel sauce.
- Get a baking pan ready with a silicone baking mat lining it. Once your caramel sauce is finished, remove it from heat. Mix the sauce to make the crystals melt all the way through if there's any left in the pot. Pour the hazelnuts and salt into your caramel sauce and mix until they are fully covered.
- Pour the hazelnut and caramel sauce onto the silicone baking mat. Let it cool to room temperature, it will solidify.
- Break the caramel into smaller pieces. Place them into a food processor. It will be LOUD. Prepare yourself! It's best to do this step with ear protection. Blend on low, then on high. Scrape the sides down and blend until it becomes a paste (a couple of minutes). Set praline paste aside.
Praline Feuilletine
- Melt 210 g of milk chocolate in the microwave. Using 30 second intervals, mix thoroughly until it's fully melted.
- Add praline paste to the chocolate and mix together.
- Add 1 cup of the feuilletine pieces to the chocolate-praline paste and mix together.
- Pour and press your praline feuilletine into your cake base and let it set in the freezer for a couple of hours prior to using.
