This brunch candy bar is made with salted cashew caramel, dark chocolate ganache filling, and cappuccino nougat. These candy bars are high end and exceptionally delicious. Dipped in dark chocolate and dusted with espresso powder, you'll be wishing you could have them for breakfast everyday.
General flow of making brunch candy bar
If you aren't a seasoned candy bar maker, I really recommend making these over the course of three days. This breaks up the components so it's not overwhelming and really lets you focus on each one. I make my components one at a time at night and let them rest before moving on to the next one.
- Make cashew caramel. Allow it to cool.
- Make nougat. Allow it to cool.
- Making dark chocolate filling, layering it directly on caramel. Place nougat on top.
Cutting, bottoming, and dipping brunch candy bar
These bars can be cut and dipped at room temperature. You MUST bottom them before fulling dipping them in dark chocolate. This is done by:
- Holding a cut bar between your finger and thumb.
- Lightly dipping it in your melted chocolate, halfway up the sides of the bar.
- Gently scraping it the bottom of the bar on a rubber spatula, removing excess chocolate but not removing the entire coated chocolate bottom.
- Placing the bar on parchment paper and allowing it to set up before fully dipping.
- For a clean look, run a sharp knife along the sides before fully dipping in chocolate.
Dipping and Dusting:
After dipping these bars, I place it on parchment paper. I then take my dipping for and lightly touch the top of the bar while the chocolate is still wet, bringing the fork in an quick upward motion to produce the "wave" on top. I use the instant espresso powder to LIGHTLY dust the bar while wet. Do not overdo it with the espresso powder at this stage - it is for appearance only.
Caramel - notes and ingredients
- evaporated milk
- heavy cream
- butter
- salt
- sugar
- corn syrup
- roasted unsalted cashews
Unsalted cashews should be used in order to control the level of salt in your finished product. If you use salted cashews, you will be at the mercy of that particular brand and manufacturer. Flour salt is often used when salting nuts at the commercial level, and it will make your candy bars much too salty.
Nougat- notes and ingredients
- egg whites
- corn syrup
- sugar
- powdered sugar
- powdered instant espresso: I used Delallo instant espresso powder, found at Walmart. You could also use a coffee flavor extract if you had one.
- shortening
- water
Nougat flow:
1. Combine egg whites and small amount of corn syrup.
2. Cook syrup slurry of sugar, corn syrup, and water.
3. Stream hot syrup into whipping egg whites
4. Add in powdered sugar, instant espresso powder, and shortening.
Dark Chocolate filling - notes and ingredients
I prefer Barry Callebaut dark chocolate and Spectrum palm oil. Both are available here, and the palm oil is a common item at most grocery stores.
This filling will be EXTREMELY thin when you make it - like water. If you place the nougat on top while it is this thin, it will all smush out of the sides. You must let it set up before placing the nougat on top. You can put the sheet in the fridge to speed up this process. The filling must be thick enough to support the weight of the nougat before you can layer your bars.
- dark chocolate
- solid palm or coconut oil
Equipment needed for brunch candy bar
- large heavy duty thick bottomed pot
- high heat spatula or wooden spoon
- candy thermometer
- (2) 12 x 17 " sheet pan
- parchment paper
- 5 quart planetary mixer
- cooking spray
- large glass microwaveable bowl
- regular spatula
- knife to cut bars
- fork to dip chocolate
Storage and shelf life
These candy bars have a shelf life of 6 months before any texture changes. They can be stored frozen for up to a year. Candy bars are one of my favorite things to make, especially these copycat Girl Scout caramel delight candy bars!
Brunch Candy Bars
Ingredients
Cashew Caramel
- 680 grams Evaporated Milk
- 240 grams Heavy Cream
- 200 grams Butter
- 4 grams Salt
- 680 grams Sugar
- 570 grams Corn Syrup
- 200 grams Roasted Unsalted Cashews
Dark Chocolate Filling
- Dark Chocolate
- Solid Palm Oil or Solid Coconut Oil
Cappuccino Nougat
Nougat: Egg White Meringue
- 60 grams egg whites (2 egg whites)
- 100 grams corn syrup
Nougat: Syrup Slurry
- 580 grams sugar
- 670 grams corn syrup
- 180 grams water
Nougat: Flavors, Graining Agents, Fats
- 160 grams powdered sugar
- 24 grams instant espresso powder
- 90 grams shortening, melted
Chocolate
- 5 pounds melted and tempered dark chocolate
Instructions
Cashews Caramel
- Prepare a 12 x 17" sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper. Leave 3" overhang of parchment on the two short sides, so you can easily lift the bars out when you need to cut them.
- In a large, heavy duty, thick bottomed pot, combine all caramel ingredients except for cashews.
- Heat the ingredients over medium heat until all sugar is dissolved and butter is melted. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Increase the heat to medium high. Cook over medium high until final temperature reaches 240F. This will take approximately 30-40 minutes. Your temperature will go very slowly between 220-230F, and much faster between 230-240F. When you see steam coming off of the caramel, it's still cooking! Don't give up because you "think" it's done. Get it to the final cooking temperature of 240F.
- Once you've hit 240F, turn off heat. Stir in cashews. Pour caramel on prepared pan. Allow caramel to cool for a minimum of 4 hours before layering with other ingredients. Caramel MUST rest for 24 hours before cutting and dipping bars.
Cappuccino Nougat
Nougat: Prep
- Prepare a 12 x 17" sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine powdered sugar and instant espresso powder. Mix well. Set aside.
- Melt shortening in microwave. Set aside.
Nougat: Egg White Meringue
- In the bowl of a 5 quart planetary mixer, combine two egg whites and 100 grams of corn syrup. Mix to combine, but do not start mixing for good. Set aside while you prepare the syrup.
Nougat: Syrup Slurry.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook over high heat until 234F. When mix reaches 234F, turn your mixer on and begin whipping your meringue ingredients on high. Continue cooking syrup slurry until 252F.
- When syrup reaches 252F, turn off heat.
- SLOWLY stream hot syrup until whipping egg whites. You need to go slowly so you do not collapse your meringue. You also need to go slowly so you don't burn yourself.
- Once all syrup has been incorporated, mix on high for 4 additional minutes.
Nougat: Graining & Fats
- Turn mixer to low. Add in powdered sugar and espresso mix. Mix for 30 seconds to combine.
- Add in melted shortening. Nougat will appear to separate briefly. Turn mixer to high for 10-20 seconds to incorporate fat.
- Spread on prepared parchment. Top with additional sheet of parchment paper to smooth out. Cool and rest for 12-24 hours.
Dark Chocolate Filling
- Melt dark chocolate and palm oil together in the microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth.
- Pour filling over cooled cashew caramel.
- Allow filling to set up until firm enough to support the weight of the nougat. You can put the caramel / chocolate tray in the fridge to speed this process up.
Assembling bars.
- Place nougat on top of the dark chocolate filling. Let rest until filling is completely firm and bars can be cut without falling apart. If you place the entire three layers of bars in the fridge before cutting, please make sure you PULL THEM OUT and let them come to room temperature BEFORE cutting and dipping.
Bottoming, Cutting, Dipping, Decorating
- Cut bars into 1" x 3".
- Bottom bars with melted chocolate by lightly dipping the caramel side into melted and tempered chocolate. Place on parchment paper. Repeat with all bars.
- Run a knife along the edge of bottomed bars to clean up your lines before dipping. Throw away excess chocolate.
- Fully dip bas until melted and tempered chocolate. Place on parchment. Dust with espresso powder.
Storage and Shelf Life
- Store bars in sealed containers under normal room temperatures. Bars will have shelf life of 4 months under room temperature.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!