Caramelized Candied Hazelnuts (Clusters and Spikes)

Candied hazelnuts are whole hazelnuts coated in a amber glass-like layer of crunchy, caramelized sugar. By suspending the sugar-dipped nuts on a skewer, the molten caramel drips and cools into dramatic caramel spikes that make for a dramatic and impressive decoration for any cake or confection.

Making homemade caramelized hazelnuts might be intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of the caramel part, they are well worth the effort and make the most elegant and gorgeous garnishes, with a textural crunch and a robust caramel flavor that pairs perfectly with the earthy, buttery hazelnuts.

I’m still a little aghast that I’ve never made candied hazelnuts before.

The spikes make for a truly striking decorations (so spiky!) I used them on my flourless hazelnut cake, but I also think they’d be lovely on my mirror-glazed nutella brownie mousse cake too (really, anything with even the tiniest hint of hazelnut or Nutella flavor is fair game for these gorgeous garnishes). (more…)