This month’s Gourmet is all about London, so it was a surprise to find a recipe from a local restaurant in the magazine. Katherine M. Whann of Washington, D.C. wrote in asking for TenPenh‘s recipe for Chocolate-Covered Cashews. Holy Yum! The recipe does have a lot of messy syrup and chocolate going on, but if you’re absolutely dying for a taste of TenPenh at home how’s a little sugar and chocolate gonna stop you? Thank you Gourmet and Katherine M. Whann! The cashew recipe hasn’t made it to Gourmet’s website yet so we’ve slavishly duplicated it for you here. You can also browse their ‘You Asked For It’ archive to see recipes from a handful of other local restaurants. TenPenh is also kind enough to post some of their recipes on their website if you’re looking for something a little more substantial.
Chocolate-Covered Cashews
Adapted from TenPenh
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr
These chocolaty cashews make a perfect after-dinner treat to serve with coffee or tea.
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups whole raw cashews (1/2 lb)
1 table spoon unsalted butter
8 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened or extra-bitter), chopped
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

• Line bottom of a shallow baking pan with parchment or wax paper
• Bring sugar, water, and salt to a boil in a 12-inch heavy skillet, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer syrup 2 minutes.
• Put nuts in a large heatproof bowl, then add syrup and toss with a wooden spoon until nuts are coated and sugar begins o crystallize, about 3 minutes.
• Return nuts to skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until sugar coating is golden and no longer crystallized, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
• Spread nuts in 1 layer in baking pan and cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• When nuts are cool, transfer to a bowl, reserving baking pan with parchment. Heat half of chocolate in microwave-safe dish in microwave (see cooks’ note, below) and 50 percent power until melted, checking frequently after 2 minutes. Add remaining chopped chocolate to melted chocolate and stir until smooth, then pour over nuts and let stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is almost set, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Sift 2 tablespoons cocoa powder over nuts and toss to coat.
• Return nuts to parchment-lined baking pan, separating nuts with your hands, and let stand until chocolate is completely set, about 30 minutes more.
• Toss nuts with remaining tablespoon cocoa powder.

Cooks’ notes:

• We tested this recipe in an 800-watt microwave oven. If yours is less (or more) powerful, adjust the melting time accordingly.
• Chocolate-covered cashews keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days.