Praline Almonds

It may surprise you but praline almonds are less caloric than plain ones and this is probably the second best news after the sweet tooth. The reason is easy to understand, for the same weight considered 40% is made up of caramel sugars which, although providing many calories, do not provide as many as the fats contained in almonds.

Praline almonds properties and benefits

The praline almonds, bearing in mind that since out of 100 grams of product 60 are made up of almonds and 40 of sugars for the same weight ingested we will have ingested much less noble nutrients and many more simple carbohydrates in the form of sugars. Obviously, an exchange that is not healthily advantageous, but if we look at the question from the point of view of giving ourselves a sweet then the advantage of a dessert consisting only of almonds (food with innumerable beneficial properties) and sugar appears clear. So let's remember these beneficial properties of almonds: the important content of the so-called good fats and vitamin E confers antioxidant properties and the ability to lower "bad" cholesterol with benefits for heart health. The high-quality fiber content contributes to the protection of the intestine and the diuretic abilities attributed to almonds.

The almond tree

It is a deciduous tree, whose scientific name is Prunus Amygdalus, which belongs to the same family (Rosaceae) and the same genus (Prunus) as the peach and apricot trees, with peach even shares the subgenus (Amygdalus). And in fact the almond and the peach tree are very similar and easily confused if you are not an expert. The flowers and leaves of the almond tree are slightly smaller than those of the peach tree. The origin of the plant is in Iran and neighboring countries, but in ancient times it had already spread to the Mediterranean basin, perhaps in southern Italy it was introduced by the Phoenicians.

Curiosities about almonds (praline and not)

In Tuscany praline almonds (but sometimes also other praline dried fruit) are called addormentasuocere, if you go to search for the reason for this curious name you will find different explanations, perhaps close between them but different, a sign that probably no one knows for sure how it started. The nicest is the one that tells that young people who went to visit their girlfriends, always under the watchful eye of her mother, used to bring these delicacies as a gift in the hope that distracted by the delicacy of these sweets they would be a little less vigilant. . Another explanation is limited to the fact that because it is customary to make them melt in the mouth, they force you to stay silent for a long time until you fall asleep. Finally, another explanation, similar to the second, adds that the effect of falling asleep or in any case of silencing the mother-in-law is wanted and welcome. Wanting to make a joke we could say that the first and the third are not in contradiction, the first concerns the young suitors and the second the husbands.

The name praline derives from César, duke of Choiseul, count of Plessis-Praslin who was marshal of France under Louis XIV and known for most of his life as marshal Plessis- Praslin, the creator of the invention would be its main cook, a certain Clement Lassagne, there is no certainty about how he got there, according to one version it was pure chance, a young apprentice would have fallen almonds in the caramel, according to a 'other version the idea would come to the cook seeing children who nibbled almonds and caramel, according to another it was the same count who suggested to the cook to create new sweets to give to his various love interests.

Praline almonds are a popular street food also in northern European countries such as Germany, Austria and Sweden, in particular they are absolutely inevitable in Christmas markets .

Traces of almond cultivation have been found dating back to the Bronze Age, making it the first fruit worked in human history.

The fact that man has known almonds since ancient times is also testified by the fact that we find them both in Greek myths (in particular that of Demophon and Phyllis) and in the Bible in which in the Book of Numbers we read that the stick had produced sprouts, had blossomed flowers and ripened almonds (a sign from God that the tribe of Levi had exclusive right to the priesthood).

Praline almonds in the kitchen

As we have seen, praline almonds are a very popular sweet snack, but to add delicacies to delicacies they are also used as an ingredient in more elaborate desserts, both crumbled and whole as a decoration, we have chosen the recipe of a simple donut enriched with praline almonds.

Soft donut with praline almonds

Ingredients for 8 servings

For the donut

• 250 grams of flour
• 220 grams of sugar
• 150 gr of dark chocolate
• 100 gr of praline almonds (they will be crumbled)
• 7 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla baking powder
• 1 dl of sunflower oil
• 1 vanilla bean
• 10 gr of butter
• 1 pinch of salt

For the icing

• 250 grams of powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons of milk

Preparation

1) Preheat the oven to 180 °.

2) Grease and flour a donut mold with opening circle of 28 cm in diameter.

3) Combine the sifted flour with baking powder, oil and sugar in a bowl.

4) Also add the seeds contained in the vanilla bean, the yolks separated from the egg whites and 1.8 deciliters of water.

5) Blend the ingredients with a pair of electric whisk until the mixture is homogeneous and smooth.

6) Coarsely chop the chocolate with a serrated knife and add it to the dough.

7) Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt and mix them delicately with the mixture obtained so far.

8) Pour everything into the mold and cook the cake for about 60 minutes.

9) Allow the cake to cool, turn it out of the mold and then transfer it to a pastry rack.

10) Prepare the icing by mixing the icing sugar with the milk, dosing it according to the desired consistency.

11) Pour the glaze over the donut, then sprinkle it with the crumbled praline almonds and let the glaze dry.

Recipe source: Spoons.it