Salted Honey Brittle
Taffi Mêl Hallt
Alison (co-founder of Halen Môn)’s father Ian travelled all around the world for his work, believe it or not, selling fire engines. (Decades later, Alison would win the same Queen’s award for salt as he did for selling his beloved fire engines.) Ian would come back home laden with exotic sweets, and Alison’s favourites were always sesame snaps. This brittle is rather like a posh version of those childhood favourites. Look for black sesame seeds online or in larger supermarkets, but if you can’t find them, use double the amount of the white ones instead. Wrap a few of these in baking parchment and give as edible gifts.
Ingredients
- 250g runny honey
- 75g shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
- 25g black sesame seeds
- 25g sesame seeds
- 1 tsp Pure White Sea Salt or Pure White Sea Salt Smoked over Oak
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Method
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper or a silicone mat and set aside until needed.
- Pour the honey into a medium saucepan, leaving at least 6cm/2.in of space between the surface of the honey and the top of the pan.
- Clip a sugar thermometer onto the side of the pan and bring the honey to the boil over a medium-high heat for 8 minutes, or until it reaches 148C or the ‘hard crack’ stage.
- Meanwhile, measure all the remaining ingredients together into a large, heatproof bowl.
- When the honey comes to temperature, remove from the heat and, working quickly but calmly, immediately pour onto the pistachio mixture in the bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine, then tip everything onto the prepared baking sheet and use the spatula to spread it out so the mixture is roughly 3mm/1/8 in thick.
- Leave to set at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Use a small hammer or clean hands to break the brittle into irregular pieces and store in an airtight container for up to five days.
