Home Made Nutella (Dairy Free, Soy Free)

I think Nutella is this dirty little secret Italy hides from the rest of the  world… Seriously. 

 One hit of the stuff and you are addicted.  A life of the underworld of organized crime and seedy nightclubs is soon to follow. You’ll do anything to get your next fix.

Frankly, if the Italian government wants to fix organized crime, they should deal with the Nutella problem first…..

This stuff is like crack. I kid you not.  

I found a bunch of recipes for Nutella  online, but each was a bit different. None used honey (shame! the flavour fixes everything!), few added salt (you need it. Salt gives ‘umami’),  and nobody included double roasting the nuts or adding cashews. Trust me- you need the double roast and the cashews.

Ever wondered how to make the most of this mind-blowing nutty chocolatey goodness?  Maybe add to it a terrific liqueur like Frangelico (!! you must!!), or Amaretto, or even Bailey’s or Kahlua if you can do dairy.

How do Italians eat Nutella? (Aside from justifying it as a Nutritious Breakfast. Right. Duely noted. lol).  The most common way I saw it eaten was melted on top of fresh crepes and rolled up as street food after a night out at the bar. Canadians do burgers and Shawarma.  Italians do crepes and Nutella. Yet again, they beat us in the style and classy department ;)

I’m not even going to describe how this recipe is actually better than the commercial product.  You Need To Make This And Let It Blow Your Mind.

Just don’t blame me if you end up in a seedy bar somewhere doing anything to get another hit. And don’t change your name to Luigi with super tight pants and suddenly sprout a rainforest of chest hair.  Promise.

Home Made Nutella (Dairy, Soy, Sugar free!)

Ingredients

• 3 squares (90g) bakers semi-sweet chocolate or milk chocolate (or  use 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus 2 tbsp coconut oil- most chocolate uses Soy lecithin as an emulsifier.)
• 2 cups hazelnuts (I only found hazelnuts at Bulk Barn)
• 1/2 cup honey or agave nectar (or more, to taste)
• 1 generous pinch salt (approx 1/8 tsp)
• 2-3 heaping tbsp raw cashew butter (optional), or 30g white chocolate (optional)
• coconut oil, hazelnut oil, walnut oil, or olive oil (optional)

Directions

1. Roast the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet for 10 min at 350.
2. Rub the skins off with a damp towel.
3. Put the nuts back on the tray to re-roast, at 350 until the nuts are a deep honey colour and have tiny beads of ‘sweat’ of their natural oils showing on the surface.
4. You can process the nuts in a food processor, or in small batches in a coffee grinder for a smoother texture.  I did two rounds- first for a coarse mealy texture, and then second to get a liquid-like consisetency.   If you are patient, you can make it look just like smooth peanut butter.
5. In a saucepan on low heat, melt the chocolate or cocoa with the honey.
6. Add the hazelnut butter, and generous pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly.  Check for sweetness- to see if its to your liking. Add more if needed.
7. If you find its missing a certain ‘creaminess’ add in either the melted white chocolate or raw cashew butter.
8. If you want it to be a bit ‘thinner’ or more spreadable, add in your choice of oil listed above.
9. Store in the fridge or freezer-  melt it before spreading to give the best texture.

If you want to see some more pretty photos,  head on over to the Desmond & Beatrice blog where I did a guest post!