Pecan Nut Brittle, a great accompaniment to Flapjacks or as a treat with a cup of tea!

I first tried out this recipe when I had a Mother’s Day themed cook-with-me demo coming up, at Makerslanding by the V&A Waterfront. I wanted to add a nutty and crunchy element to go with the flapjacks, to elevate it and take it to the next level, and this peanut brittle was a hit!

Pecan Nut Brittle Recipe

Ingredients

• 200 g pecan nuts (or mixed nuts)

• 2 cups sugar 

• 100 g salted butter

• 1/3 cup syrup 

• 1/2t baking powder

• 1 tsp maldon salt

Method

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water, butter and honey and bring to a boil. 

Cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is light brown and is heated up to 150 °C on a thermometer. Once the caramel reaches this temperature, it needs to be kept at a temperature of 150-155 °C for ten minutes. After ten minutes, remove the mixture from the heat and carefully stir in the baking soda. This will cause the mixture to bubble.

Stir in the nuts, then immediately scrape the brittle onto a large rimmed, nonstick baking sheet. Spread the brittle into a thin, even layer. Sprinkle maldon salt over and let cool completely, this will take about 30 minutes. Break the brittle into large shards and serve with a cup of tea or with pancakes (try this fluffiest flapjack recipe).

About Shawn Godfrey

Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.

Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.

It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.

On his blog, Shawn shares Restaurant Reviews and Accommodation Reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (6), Olivia (4) and Harvey (2).

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