Its rich, nutty, tastes amazing on absolutely anything you fancy and Yes! you can now make it at home sweet home!!
If you've been following me closely, well I have this thing for making/replicating any commercial product in my very own kitchen. Nutella - you either hate it or absolutely love this spread!! And what made me stop buying this jar of deliciousness from a super market, were the recent posts on how much of sugar and palm oil goes into making one - super unhealthy if you ask me.
So, I had this large storage box filled with de-skinned hazelnuts lying in our fridge for ages. My initial thoughts were to put it in a choco chip cookie, make a thick smoothie or try something easier. A little research for recipes on the internet and voila! I landed on pages showcasing home made Nutella recipe with this pricy, delicious nut. And trust me, its super duper easy to make. Can be stored for weeks together in an air tight container, refrigerated for longer shelf life. Spread it on freshly baked bread, sugar cookies, plain sponge cakes, melt a wee bit and drizzle over vanilla ice cream. The things you can do with this delicious spread is countless and left to your chocolatey imagination.
So here's what you need -
INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup - Hazelnuts
12 ounces Milk chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp - Sunflower oil
4 tbsp - Powdered sugar
2 tbsp - Cocoa powder ( I used Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder)
1 tbsp - Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp - Salt
PROCEDURE
1. Pre heat oven to 160C and roast your Hazelnuts on a flat pan for about 6-8 minutes, until they emit a nice nutty flavour. Once done, let them cool. If you have hazelnuts with the skin on - de skin them by rubbing vigorously with a kitchen towel.
2. In a microwave safe bowl - melt the chocolate with 30second bursts on medium high. Stirring between each bursts to ensure that the chocolate melts evenly and does not get overcooked. Let it cool, set aside.
3. In a high powered blender grind the hazelnuts to a fine paste. To this add oil, sugar & cocoa powder and blend until they form a homogenous mixture. Remember - smoother the paste, easier would it be use the spread.
4. Add the melted chocolate, vanilla, salt and blend once again till smooth. You may either run this mixture through a sieve to remove any large lumps/nuts or transfer as is to an air tight jar.
So go on, make this easy chocolate spread which tastes so much better than the store brought Nutella .
I personally love it on a freshly baked slice of milk bread and sometimes make a thick shake by blending it up with vanilla ice cream.
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