AI-generated image
Turrón de Jijona
Soft almond and honey nougat
Torró de Xixona: Alicante's soft, crumbly Christmas nougat of toasted almonds and honey
The hill town of Jijona (Xixona) in Alicante has been grinding almonds and honey into turrón for centuries, and its soft, beige, slightly oily bars are on almost every Spanish table between Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night. Unlike hard Alicante turrón, Jijona turrón is a smooth almond paste that crumbles and melts in the mouth, deeply nutty with a floral sweetness from the honey. A common mistake is under-toasting the almonds; pale almonds give a bland, grey paste, so take them to a light, even gold. This version uses honey and egg white, so it is vegetarian but not vegan. Chef's tip: press the warm paste into its mould under a weight and leave it a full two days before slicing; it firms up and the oil settles evenly through it.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
- 14 oz blanched almonds
- 5 ½ oz runny honeya mild flower honey such as orange blossom or rosemary
- 3 ½ oz caster sugar
- 1 egg whitefrom 1 large egg
- 1 tsp lemon zestfinely grated
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (300°F fan). Spread 14 oz blanched almonds on a tray and toast for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring halfway, until evenly light gold right through (break one to check) and smelling nutty. Cool completely.
14 minStep 2: Grind the almonds in a food processor in short bursts, scraping down often, for 4 to 6 minutes, until they pass the crumbly stage and form a soft, oily paste. Mix in 1 tsp lemon zest and ½ tsp ground cinnamon.
6 minStep 3: Line a 20 x 10 cm loaf tin or a small rectangular box with baking paper, leaving an overhang.
Step 4: Put 5 ½ oz runny honey and 3 ½ oz caster sugar in a heavy pan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Boil, without stirring, until it reaches 250°F on a sugar thermometer, about 5 minutes; a drop in cold water forms a soft ball.
7 minStep 5: Meanwhile whisk 1 egg white to soft peaks. Take the syrup off the heat and pour it slowly onto the egg white, whisking all the time, until thick and glossy.
Step 6: Return the mixture to the pan, add the almond paste and stir over a low heat with a wooden spoon for 8 to 10 minutes, until it comes together as a smooth, heavy paste that leaves the sides of the pan. Hot sugar burns badly, so stir with a long spoon and keep children away.
9 minStep 7: Scrape into the tin, press flat, cover with baking paper and set a weight (a couple of tins of food) on top. Leave at cool room temperature for 48 hours before turning out and slicing. Wrapped, it keeps for a month.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 235 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does turrón de Jijona take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of runny honey?
- Maple syrup or golden syrup, same amount.
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walaluFried urad dal rings in treacle
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Baklava
The famous layered pastry: crisp sheets of buttered fillo sandwich a filling of almonds, pistachios and cashews spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. After baking, the hot baklava is soaked in a syrup of sugar, honey, lemon, rose and cardamom and decorated with almond and pistachio flakes. Cut into 40 diamonds; serve with fresh cream or ice cream.
Perfect for:Christmas