Borstplaat (Dutch Sinterklaas Fondant)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy-bottomed saucepan, 2-liter or larger
• •Sugar thermometer
• •Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula
• •Parchment paper and metal borstplaat rings or cookie cutters

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the molds

   Line a baking sheet with parchment and set lightly oiled borstplaatringen, small metal candy rings, or simple cookie cutters on top. If you have no rings, oil a small square tin and plan to cut the slab. Measure every flavouring now. Borstplaat is polite until the very moment it isn't; once the syrup turns cloudy, it sets quickly.

2. 2

   Dissolve the sugar

   Put the sugar, cream, butter, vanilla sugar, and salt in a heavy pan. If you're using vanilla extract instead, keep it for later. Warm over low heat, stirring gently, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Keep the sides of the pan clean; sugar crystals clinging there can seed coarse grains later, and borstplaat wants a fine crystalline bite, not sand.

   Fine sugar dissolves more obediently than coarse sugar. This is one of those small Dutch economies: spend nothing extra, just choose the right packet.
3. 3

   Boil to soft-ball

   Raise the heat to medium and let the syrup boil without stirring until it reaches 113 to 115C, usually 6 to 9 minutes. If you don't have a thermometer, drop a little syrup into cold water; once cooled, it should gather into a soft ball that flattens between your fingers. The colour should stay pale ivory. If it darkens toward caramel, it has wandered into another sweet entirely.

   Change the cold water between tests. Warm water lies, and sugar already has enough tricks.
4. 4

   Stir until matte

   Remove the pan from the heat. Add vanilla extract if using; for chocolate, sift in the cocoa, and for coffee, stir in the dissolved coffee. Let the fierce bubbling settle for half a minute, then stir steadily with a wooden spoon. Watch the surface change from shiny to satin to matte, and stop when the candy falls from the spoon in thick ribbons and leaves a clear track on the pan bottom.

5. 5

   Pour at once

   Pour the thickened candy immediately into the prepared rings, about 1 cm deep. Work cleanly and don't scrape the grainy crust from the sides of the pan into the molds. That crust has done its duty. The smooth centre is what you want.

6. 6

   Let it set

   Leave the borstplaat at cool room temperature until firm, about 2 hours. Lift away the rings or peel off the parchment, then store the pieces between layers of parchment in an airtight tin. Serve small pieces with coffee after the feast, or quietly before it, which is how most family traditions begin.

Chef Tips

• •A sugar thermometer is not showing off; it is mercy. The old cold-water test works, but 113 to 115C gives the clean crystalline set that makes borstplaat different from fudge.
• •Use cream, not evaporated milk. Cream rounds the sugar and gives the pale ivory colour; milk works in older recipes, but it sets harder and a little leaner.
• •Keep the flavours single: vanilla, cocoa, or coffee. A December table already has enough spice from speculaas; borstplaat's charm is its clean sugar-and-cream finish.
• •Hot sugar sticks to skin. Let children choose the shapes, then send them to set the table while you pour.
• •Store it in a tin at cool room temperature, layered with parchment. The refrigerator is too damp and turns the surface tacky.

Advance Preparation

• •Borstplaat can be made 1 to 2 weeks ahead and kept in an airtight tin at cool room temperature.
• •Set out the molds and measure the flavourings before cooking; the candy gives you only a short pouring window.
• •Do not refrigerate for storage. Moisture dulls the surface and softens the clean crystalline bite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 24g)