I went through a phase in third year of university, during second semester exam time to be precise, where I existed solely on black coffee and pita bread topped with Nutella. Definitely not the healthiest diet, but somehow my body survived and I did well enough in my exams for that year. I wouldn't recommend going through bucketfuls of the stuff to anyone, but most of us need a decadent chocolate and nut fix sometimes.
The original recipe called for whole hazelnuts and a small quantity of almonds, but the lack of a decent food processor means that I'll take shortcuts when I can. In this case, it manifested in the use of hazelnut meal and slivered almonds (to add a little bit of crunch). Of course, you can use almond meal as well, but as a crunchy peanut-butter, chunky meat pie kind of girl, Nutella with slightly more texture sounded right up my alley.
The recipe itself is very simple, and the end product has a richer chocolate taste and nut, is a lot less sweeter, and is guaranteed to be healthier than the store-bought version. I can't guarantee that you won't go through a jar faster than the bought version though. Thankfully, this recipe makes two jars - one to gift away and one to hoard for yourself.
As I was using hazelnut meal, I skipped straight to warming whole milk and powdered milk in a small saucepan with the honey and salt, and melting together the chocolates.
If you're making this like I did, it's a matter of combining the hazelnut meal and melted chocolate until the mixture is relatively smooth, then adding the warm milk mixture and mixing until everything is well-combined.
For the extra crunch, I added some slivered almonds.
Transfer the mixture into two jars and refrigerate until ready to use. It will keep in the fridge for up to one week, although I expect it'll get consumed faster.
The original recipe called for whole hazelnuts and a small quantity of almonds, but the lack of a decent food processor means that I'll take shortcuts when I can. In this case, it manifested in the use of hazelnut meal and slivered almonds (to add a little bit of crunch). Of course, you can use almond meal as well, but as a crunchy peanut-butter, chunky meat pie kind of girl, Nutella with slightly more texture sounded right up my alley.
The recipe itself is very simple, and the end product has a richer chocolate taste and nut, is a lot less sweeter, and is guaranteed to be healthier than the store-bought version. I can't guarantee that you won't go through a jar faster than the bought version though. Thankfully, this recipe makes two jars - one to gift away and one to hoard for yourself.
As I was using hazelnut meal, I skipped straight to warming whole milk and powdered milk in a small saucepan with the honey and salt, and melting together the chocolates.
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| Melted Chocolate |
For the extra crunch, I added some slivered almonds.
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| Homemade Hazelnut and Chocolate Spread |
Homemade Hazelnut and Chocolate Spread
Adapted from a recipe by David Lebovitz
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup (40g) slivered almonds
- 1 1/3 cup (160g) hazelnut meal
- 1 3/4 cup (400g) whole milk
- 7/8 cup (60g) powdered whole milk
- 3 tablespoons (40g) honey
- pinch of salt
- 170g dark chocolate, chopped
- 140g milk chocolate, chopped (use one that’s at least 30% cacao solids)
Method:
- If using whole nuts, spread the nuts on a baking sheet, keeping the almond separate, and toast the nuts in a 350ºF (180ºC) oven, stirring a few times, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the hazelnuts are browned. If using pre-ground nuts, skip this step.
- Warm the whole milk and powdered milk in a small saucepan with the honey and salt just until it starts to boil. Remove from heat.
- In a clean, dry bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, or in a microwave oven, melt the chocolates together until smooth.
- If using whole nuts, once the nuts are well-toasted, remove them from oven and use a spatula to place the warm hazelnuts in a clean tea towel, then fold them inside the towel and rub them vigorously to remove most of the loose skins.
- In a food processor, grind the warm hazelnuts and almonds until they’re as fine as possible. If you're making this like I did, skip the food processor, add the hazelnut meal to a bowl and use a wooden spoon for the next step.
- Add the melted chocolate and continue to process the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the work bowl, as necessary.
- Once the mixture is smooth, add the warm milk mixture and process until everything is well-combined.
- Strain the paste if you want a super-smooth mixture, otherwise feel free to skip this step like I did and add the slivered almonds.
- Transfer the mixture into two jars and refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep for up to one week.
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| Homemade Hazelnut and Chocolate Spread |
