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Easy Chocolate Cake

For many Nuts Candies, the recipe requires that the Nuts be Chopped. Depending on how finely the Nuts should be chopped, this task can be done by hand or with a food processor. If a recipe calls for “finely chopped” or “finely ground Nuts,” it is easiest to use a food processor. Place a small Almonds of Nuts in the processor, and pulse quickly several times. Nuts have a great deal of oil, so it is easy to over-process Nuts and end up with Nuts butter if you are not carefully monitoring them. Do the Nuts in small batches to ensure even chopping.

If the candy recipe calls for simply “Chopped Nuts” or “coarsely chopped Nuts,” the Nuts can be chopped by hand using a knife. I prefer to use a heavy, sharp chef’s knife to do the job. First, gather the Nuts in a circle slightly smaller than the length of the knife’s blade. Rock the blade back and forth, rotating it around the circle with a firm, quick stroke. Periodically stop and reposition any Nuts that have shifted outside of the circle. Continue chopping in this fashion until the Nuts are a suitable size.

Remember, never chop Nuts while warm. This can result in greasy, oily Nuts - not ideal for candymaking. Additionally, if a recipe calls for a certain amount of chopped Nuts, measure the Nuts after chopping, not before. Whole Nuts will take up more space in the measuring cup than chopped Nuts, so you will have an inaccurate amount of chopped Nuts if you measure them before chopping.

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