Ingredients
Peanuts
- 500 graw shelled peanuts, skins on
Syrup
- 500 gblack cane molasses, or miel negra
- 150 ggranulated sugar
- 60 mlwater
- 1/4 tspsalt
To finish
- 1 tspaniseed, if wanted
- butter, for the tin
Equipment
- a sugar thermometer
- a shallow tin, well greased
Directions
- Use raw peanuts rather than pre-roasted ones, so you control the toasting. Spread them on a baking tray in a single layer. Roast them at 170C for about fifteen minutes. Shake the tray every five minutes so they colour evenly. They are ready when the skins darken and the kitchen smells strongly of peanut.
- Tip them into a bowl and rub them in a cloth to loosen the skins. Keep the peanuts warm, since cold nuts seize the hot syrup. Now preparing the tin, which must be done before you start the syrup.
- Grease a shallow tin thoroughly with butter. Have a greased spatula and a greased rolling pin ready beside it. Put the molasses, sugar, water and salt in a heavy deep pan. Use a much larger pan than you think you need, since it foams up hard.
- Set it over a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring and let it boil steadily. Boil it to 150C, which is the hard crack stage. Keep children and pets out of the kitchen and work slowly. Have a bowl of cold water beside you in case of splashes.
- Take it off the heat the moment it reaches temperature. Now combining, which must be fast. Tip the warm peanuts into the pan all at once. Add the aniseed at the same time if you are using it.
- Stir hard with a wooden spoon until every peanut is coated. The mixture will stiffen quickly, so do not stop stirring. Press it out flat with the greased spatula. Roll it level with the greased rolling pin if it is uneven. Work quickly, since it becomes unworkable within a minute. Make it about a centimetre and a half thick. Now scoring it, which must happen while it is warm.
- Wait about five minutes until it is firm but still warm. Score the surface deeply with an oiled knife into rectangles. Score right down through most of the depth. If you wait until it is cold, it will shatter randomly instead. Leave the tin at room temperature until completely cold and hard. Do not put it in the fridge, since condensation makes it sticky.
- Turn the slab out and break it along the scored lines. Wrap the bricks individually in greaseproof paper. They keep for several weeks but go sticky in humid weather. Serve them broken into small pieces, since they are very hard.
Technique
- Use a much larger pan than seems necessary, since molasses foams up violently.
- Molten sugar at 150C causes severe burns; work slowly and keep others away.
- Score it while still warm, since cold brittle shatters randomly.
Substitutions
- Dark treacle or blackstrap molasses in place of miel negra.
- Roasted peanuts, though toasting raw ones gives better flavour.
Variations
- With sesame seeds added to the syrup.
- Made softer, boiled to a lower temperature.
- With the peanut skins rubbed off for a cleaner look.
History
The Guaraní name means monkey’s brick; sold at markets and roadside stalls.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ka’i ladrillo?
Ka’i ladrillo is a dessert from Paraguay: peanut and molasses sweet set hard in brick-like blocks. The Guaraní name means monkey’s brick; sold at markets and roadside stalls.
How long does Ka’i ladrillo take to make?
Ka’i ladrillo takes 20 min plus 2 hours setting of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 16 bricks. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Ka’i ladrillo?
Yes, within limits. Dark treacle or blackstrap molasses in place of miel negra. Roasted peanuts, though toasting raw ones gives better flavour.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ka’i ladrillo?
Use raw peanuts rather than pre-roasted ones, so you control the toasting. Spread them on a baking tray in a single layer. Roast them at 170C for about fifteen minutes. Shake the tray every five minutes so they colour evenly. They are ready when the skins darken and the kitchen smells strongly of peanut.
