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 ;)
This stuff is like crack. I kid you not. lol
In my travels to figure out how to make this stuff, I found a bunch of recipes for Nutella online. However, none used honey (the floral notes are awesome) or even agave, very 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 some liqueur like Frangelico (!! you must!!), or Amaretto, or even Bailey’s or Kahlua if you 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. Canucks from my ‘hood do burgers and shawarma. Italians do crepes and Nutella. Um. I think we missed something here lol.
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.
MyRealFoodLife.com
Home Made Nutella (Dairy, Soy, Refined Sugar free)
Ingredients
- 3 squares (90g) bakers semi-sweet chocolate or the equivalent weight in EnjoyLife choclate chips, or milk chocolate, (or to control the sugar, make your own- use 1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder plus 2 tbsp coconut oil)
- 2 cups hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup honey or 3/4 cup agave nectar (or more, to taste)
- 1 generous pinch salt (approx 1/8 tsp)
- 2-3 heaping tbsp raw cashew butter (optional), (or 1/4 cup raw soaked cashews, blenderized) or 30g white chocolate (optional)
- coconut oil, hazelnut oil, walnut oil, or olive oil for emulsification – amount depends on how thin you want the nutella. Also optional.
Directions
- Roast the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet for 10 min at 350.
- Rub the skins off with a damp towel.
- 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.
- 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 in the processor for a coarse mealy texture, and then second in the coffee grinder to get a liquid-like consisetency. If you are patient, you can make it look just like smooth peanut butter.
- In a saucepan on low heat, melt the chocolate or cocoa and coconut oil with your chosen sweetener.
- Add the hazelnut butter, and the generous pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly. Check for sweetness- to see if its to your liking. Adjust if needed.
- If you find its missing a certain ‘creaminess’ now you can add in either the melted white chocolate or raw cashew butter or blended cashews.
- If you want it to be a bit ‘thinner’ or more spreadable, add in your choice of oil listed above.
- Store in the fridge or freezer- warm it/ melt it slightly it before spreading to give the best texture.
NOTE 1: to make it more spreadable, add some olive oil, or coconut milk.
NOTE 2: NUT FREE: use roasted sunflower seeds, and add in 1/8 tsp salt, and 2 tsp granulated coffee or a shot of espresso for a perk.
If you want to see some more pretty photos, head on over to the Desmond & Beatrice blog where I did a guest post!
you’re so welcome tracey!! I find home- roasted sunflower seeds are super nutty flavoured so they make this chocolatey spread pretty yummy! be sure to throw in some extra flavours for fun, either melted white chocolate or some almond extract or a little espresso or cinnamon along with your cocoa powder…. yuuuummy :D
I love that you have a nutfree version for nutella! I can’t have nuts! Thank you!
yaaaay!!! oh my gosh sally i am so happy that i could make your day! seriously, this recipe will make you squealy happy, i am so not kidding. any requests you might have for future recipes, please send them along and i’ll get inventing! :)
alea
you are my hero!! I love nutella, but after recently having to go dairy,egg,gluten and corn free I have missed it so much. This is the best!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
ohhh so you know the magic of crepes and nutella too :) its a beautiful thing.!
Looks good. I will try this Nutella recipe for Claire. I’m all about the non commercial, as you know.
PS. There are crepe-nutella vendors at every street corner in Paris. I overdosed.