Viking Candy Class

It's December.  Everyone loves candy!  Everyone wants to make candy (...well, those of us who love to cook), and that's what we did during the Viking candy class.

Our instructor was patient while answering our numerous questions, kept us all safe from the cooking perils of hot sugar, and sent us home bearing boxes filled with candy goodness.

instructions related to candy thermometers

Kerrygold butter is very yellow and very tasty.  This was the beginning of 'white chocolate cherry fudge.'  We made the fudge using Callebaut white chocolate, marshmallow cream, dried cherries, and the hot sugar mixture below.  Later we added sour cream to the fudge mixture to promote 'creaminess.'

The white fudge must rest in the refrigerator several hours prior to cutting; however, our well prepared instructor had pans of fudge cooling and waiting to be added to our candy boxes.

another hot sugar mixture boiling away to make 'Butter Nut Brittle'

coating hot toasted nuts with Kerrygold butter

stirring the hot toasted buttered nuts into the sugar mixture

cooking the sugar to different temperatures yields nut brittle colors from golden to dark golden

cooled nut brittle, cracked and ready for tasting

Thermometers were quite the topic of discussion during the class.  Properly calibrated thermometers are extremely important when working with hot sugar.

digital thermometer

notice two thermometers in the pan of hot sugar syrup

pounding the peppermint

tempering chocolate - heat the chocolate / cool the chocolate / heat the chocolate again
and----stir, stir, stir

The heating and cooling and heating and stirring resulted in 'Double Chocolate Peppermint Bark' that was shiny and broke with a wonderful tempered chocolate 'pop' sound.

pecans waiting to be enrobed and become 'Caramel Pecan Clusters,' or more commonly called Turtles

add the caramel layer

add the chocolate layer

beginning to box all the goodies

my great team

The Viking classes are fun and informative.  If you have the opportunity to participate in a class, I encourage you to take the opportunity.  Click here to view upcoming Viking classes.

Thanks, Viking, for offering this class. 

(photos above taken using iPhone)

butter nut brittle:

double chocolate peppermint bark; isn't it pretty