Nougatkringel

Ingredients

• 250 ml milk
• 0.25 vanilla bean
• 100 g nougat
• 2 egg yolks
• 25 g sugar
• 30 g starch
• 125 g softened butter
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 100 g almond sticks
• 200 g dark chocolate couverture
• 40 g Butter
• 150 g flour
• 50 g ground hazelnuts
• 50 g sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 100 g butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp rum

Instructions

1. 1.

   Roast the almond sticks without fat in a pan until golden brown and set aside for garnish.

2. 2.

   Mix flour with nuts, sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt. Cut in butter and quickly combine everything with egg and rum into a smooth dough. Chill the dough for about 30 minutes.

3. 3.

   Preheat oven to 180 °C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

4. 4.

   Roll out the dough to about 3 mm thickness and cut out rings using two different sized circles (8‑10 cm diameter). Place the rings on the tray, bake until golden brown in about 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

5. 5.

   For the filling bring milk with scraped vanilla bean to a boil. Stir nougat into the hot milk and let it melt. Remove the vanilla bean.

6. 6.

   Whisk egg yolks with sugar into a foam, fold in starch. Slowly pour the hot nougat milk while stirring, return everything to the pot, and bring to a gentle boil once more. Remove from heat and cool in an ice bath with occasional stirring.

7. 7.

   Meanwhile beat softened butter with sifted powdered sugar until fluffy. When the nougat cream reaches the same temperature as the butter, fold the cream into the butter by spoonfuls.

8. 8.

   Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (or star tip) with the nougat‑butter cream and pipe creamy rings onto the pastry rings. Chill until the buttercream is almost set.

9. 9.

   For garnish place almond sticks on a plate and gently press the nougat rings so the almond sticks cling to them. Melt chocolate couverture with butter in a double boiler, generously coat the rings, and let dry at room temperature.