Ingredients

Liquid (only) from one 15oz can of chickpeas (this liquid is known as ‘aquafaba’)
1 cup sugar
1 cup agave syrup (light or dark although light will yield a prettier and more delicate tasting nougat)
1/4 cup water
Dash of salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups mix-ins such as nuts (toasted or raw) and dried fruit. If you want to make chocolate swirl like in our picture, use no more than 1 cup of nuts and fruit, and add 1/2 cup chocolate chips at the very end.

Directions

Line an 8×8 pan completely with parchment paper which has been sprayed with a neutral oil or coconut oil. When we make this we fold the excess parchment paper over the sides and tape it down on the outside. Set the pan aside.

Place the aquafaba (the bean liquid) in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and start whipping it. Don’t worry that it looks like a tiny amount, eventually it will start whipping up, just like egg whites. You want to whip it into soft/semi-hard peaks.

While your aquafaba is whipping, place the sugar, agave, and water in a heavy saucepan; use the smallest one you have that will still allow for plenty of room at the top. This is so you can immerse the business end of your candy thermometer in the liquid (too-big a pan will cause the level of the liquid to be too shallow).

Place the mixture over medium heat and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Now place your candy thermometer in the liquid, and simmer until the mixture reaches about 280° (it’s fine if you go a little over – once it starts getting up there the temperature climbs quickly). Remove the pan from the heat as soon as it’s ready, otherwise you are going to end up with a syrup that gets crunchy-hard.

Switch your stand mixer to the ‘low’ setting, and very slowly and carefully (because it’s very hot) stream the hot syrup mixture into your whipped aquafaba. When the hot liquid meets the aquafaba the aquafaba will deflate; that’s fine and to be expected.

Once the syrup is in with the aquafaba turn the mixer back up and beat it for about 15 minutes. Then, with the mixer still running, mix in your mix-ins; if you are adding chocolate chips put them in at the very last and only for a few seconds to achieve the swirl effect (if you let it go any longer you’ll end up with chocolate-tinted nougat).

Scrape the nougat into the prepared pan, smoothing down as best as you can (sometimes shaking the pan or banging it gently on the counter helps).

Ideally you will leave it to cool and set for 24 hours, but if you just can’t stand the suspense cool it for at least 2 hours. The longer you can let it set, though, the easier it will be to handle, and the tastier it will be.

Remove from pan, remove the paper, and use a sharp, long-bladed knife to cut into squares. You will want to push the blade down into the nougat along the full length of the nougat, not cut it by dragging the knife.

To store in the fridge put a piece of parchment paper between each layer of cut nougat (if you’re stacking it); to serve take it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes.