Cashew Brittle: A Crunchy Homemade Gift You Can Make in 30 Minutes

Brittle is a thin sheet of caramelised sugar full of roasted nuts, broken into shards. Cashews suit it well, because their buttery flavour balances the sweetness and they stay crunchy in the caramel. It takes about half an hour, uses only a few ingredients, and keeps well, which makes it one of the easiest homemade gifts. We suggested it in our post on ways to use roasted cashews, and this is the full recipe.

150g roasted cashews, about one cup. 200g sugar, which is about one cup. A quarter of a cup of water. A tablespoon of butter or ghee. A pinch of salt. Half a teaspoon of baking soda, which is optional but makes the brittle lighter and easier to bite. A baking tray lined with greased baking paper or a greased banana leaf, and a heavy-bottomed pan.

Use plain roasted cashews so that the caramel supplies the flavour. Our Oven Roasted Cashew is roasted with no added oil, and works well here. Warm the cashews slightly before you add them, because cold nuts can make the caramel set too fast.

Melted sugar is far hotter than boiling water and sticks to skin, so work carefully. Keep children and pets out of the kitchen, use a long wooden spoon, and have everything measured and ready before you start, because the final steps happen quickly. Never taste caramel straight from the pan. If you do get hot sugar on your skin, run it under cold water straight away.

Put the sugar and water in the pan and heat over medium heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. After that, do not stir. You can swirl the pan gently. Let it bubble for 8 to 10 minutes, until it turns a light golden amber. It darkens quickly at the end, so watch it closely. If it turns dark brown or smells bitter, it has burnt, and it is best to start again.

As soon as the caramel is golden, turn off the heat and stir in the butter, the salt and the warm cashews. Work quickly, so that every cashew is coated. If you are using baking soda, sprinkle it in now and stir. The mixture will foam up and turn pale, which is what makes the brittle light.

Pour the mixture straight onto the lined tray, and spread it as thin as you can with the back of an oiled spoon, ideally to the thickness of one layer of cashews. Be careful, as it is very hot. Leave it to cool completely, which takes 20 to 30 minutes, until it is hard and snaps cleanly. Then break it into shards with your hands or by tapping it with the back of a spoon.

If the brittle is chewy or sticks to your teeth, the sugar did not get hot enough, so next time cook it a little longer until it is a deeper golden colour. If it is bitter and dark, it cooked too long or the heat was too high. If it has gone grainy and cloudy, sugar crystals formed, which often happens when the sugar is stirred after it has dissolved, or when crystals stick to the side of the pan. Brushing the inside of the pan with a little water can help.

If the brittle goes soft after a day or two, it has taken up moisture from the air. Store it in an airtight container as soon as it is fully cool, and keep it somewhere dry, as in our guide to storing roasted cashews.

Add a pinch of chilli flakes for a sweet and spicy brittle, a little cinnamon or cardamom for warmth, or a few sesame seeds with the cashews. A pinch of flaky salt on top, added while the brittle is still warm, balances the sweetness. You could swap some of the cashews for a spoonful of desiccated coconut.

Let the brittle cool completely, then pack the shards in a clean airtight jar, a small box lined with baking paper, or a cellophane bag tied with ribbon. Add a note card with a short message. Include a line that it contains cashews and butter, because some people have a tree nut allergy, as we explain in tree nut allergy and cashews.

If you would rather give ready-made cashews, our gift boxes are made with 100% Sri Lankan cashews and packed to order with a note card in your own words. Our guide to thank-you gift ideas has more ideas for what to give and to whom.