I made torrone and it came out way too soft. Two questions about it.

I know it was at the right temperature. Can it be too soft from underbeating? Any suggestions on troubleshooting this for next time would be great. Also, is there anything I can do with the too soft batch? It tastes so great I hate to just throw it away.

Couldn't Be Parve
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9 Comments

lesliefoster@earthlink.net
[email protected] December 3, 2012
Unaware that humidity might result in too-soft torrone, I tried making it for the first time yesterday--as a rainy day project! Whether it was the humidity or I did not beat the mixture long enough, the candy was much too soft to cut after setting overnight. I put the pan of torrone in a low oven (175 F) for about two hours, as if I were making meringues. The mixture dried out and the torrone was firm enough to slice after cooling.
 
Cre L.
Cre L. August 22, 2016
Thanks, I Hope this method saves the day because I made a double batch of torrone and forgot the extra beating step before adding the nuts to what was coming out perfect. Right after the mistake I knew it was going to be soft after setting up overnight. I was correct so I looked up this fix and my mistake is in the oven. I hope this salvages the torrone.
 
Couldn't B.
Couldn't B. November 10, 2011
Thanks for the help! I am going to get some more pistachios today so I can try it again. Hopefully it will turn out better this time.
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby November 10, 2011
Bouloangere has you on the right path...definitely mix it longer than your recipe calls for...and a "heaping" serving of the corn syrup...
 
boulangere
boulangere November 10, 2011
Yes, I suspect the culprit is from underbeating. Nougat is not easy to make. The cooking temp has to be exactly right, as does the beating time. Just about the time your mixer sounds like it's about to give out is about right. Also, I go a bit high on the measurement for corn syrup.
 
Couldn't B.
Couldn't B. November 10, 2011
Thanks for your feedback. My recipe said to beat it for only 2-3 minutes until "slightly cool and thickened". Is that too short? I made it from this recipe once before in a candy making class but it seemed much more obvious when the instructor was there to say "stop". I will keep trying.

It turns out the too soft nougat is perfect when dipped in chocolate so that is how I salvaged the batch.
 
boulangere
boulangere November 10, 2011
Oh, great fix! Yes, definitely beat it longer. It wants to be very, very thickened before your scrape it out of the bowl.
 
Couldn't B.
Couldn't B. November 9, 2011
I don't think it was humidity because it is fairly dry here and the other candy I made at the same time came out fine. Possible though. I will try again. Thanks for the suggestion for filling cookies, I hadn't thought of that but this would be a great filling for some bar cookies. I will try that.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames November 9, 2011
Humidity is the likely culprit for any nougat that's too soft, even after reaching the right temperature. I'd put the soft gooey stuff between cookies, or any other place you could use something sweet, soft and gooey. Not sure if there is a fix to create a good nougat from what you have there . . . . no doubt there are experts here who would know. ;o)
 
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