Homemade ice cream is so yummy and it’s even better with home made croquante! A little extra bang in the soft ice cream. The crispy, nutty bits are perfect as topping or decoration for all kinds of pastries and desserts and it’s really easy to make! Here I’ve used almonds, but hazelnuts are also super delicious.

150 g almonds, peeled (or other nuts)
275 g granulated sugar (about 3 dl)
25 g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1. Chop the almonds into quite small pieces.

2. Melt the sugar in a thick-based saucepan over medium heat. Do not stir but keep an eye on it – you don’t want the sugar to burn. You can scrape down suger from the walls of the pan though.

3. Remove from the heat and add butter and vanilla extract. Stir until the butter has melted.

4. Stir in the chopped almond and mix quickly. It’s a messy mass.

5. Pour the mix on a baking sheet, place another sheet over flatten using a rolling pin. The thinner the easier to break up into pieces!

6. Pull off the top paper and allow to cool.

7. Chop the croquante roughly and put in a plastic bag. Bang it into crumbs using a rolling pin (the croquante will stop beeing sticky if you do this). Now you chop it as neatly or roughly as you like!