You could double this recipe and have extra caramel on hand to spoon over cheesecake or ice cream. I like to chop nuts before roasting them, since chopping exposes more surface area. The more area that gets toasted, the more flavor. So coarsely chop the hazelnuts or pound them with the end of a rolling pin in a deep container to break them up.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 2 cups

　　9 ounces (225g) hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

　　2 1/2 ounces (70g) milk chocolate (preferably Valrhona Jivara 40% cacao), chopped

　　4 teaspoons (28g) honey

　　1/2 cup (100g) sugar

　　1 1/2 tablespoons (26g) light corn syrup

　　Generous 1/4 teaspoon (1.5g) coarse salt, or more to taste

　　1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream, heated

　　

Step 1

Heat the oven to 350°F.

　　

Step 2

Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until toasted and fragrant. Lift the nuts off the baking sheet, leaving any nut powder behind; it will be a little bitter and won’t feel right in your mouth.

　　

Step 3

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and drizzle in the honey. Pour the sugar into a deep skillet and sprinkle it with a tablespoon or two of cool water. Drizzle on the corn syrup, add the salt, and cook over high heat. Leave the pan alone until the sugar starts to color, then pick up the pan and swirl the sugar in it so it colors evenly. Cook until the sugar is dark amber. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour in the hot cream; this will boil up and spatter, so be careful. Return the pan to the heat and cook, rolling the caramel in the pan, until the caramel comes back to a boil and is completely smooth again.

　　

Step 4

Pour the caramel over the chocolate and honey and leave it for about 1 minute. Then stir and fold with a heatproof rubber scraper until the chocolate has melted completely. Fold in the nuts. Taste for salt; it should be on the salty side.

　　

Step 5

You can make the nut caramel days in advance and refrigerate it, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days. Heat it up in the microwave or a double boiler before you use it.

　　Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__