I just made Nutella. I actually did.
It has less than a quarter of the sugar. It has no horrid palm oil( which is the devil’s sporn) but tastes sweet, and chocolatey and just the right amount of hazelnutty.
Try it. Then try it on your kids. Then, each time you pass the jar, you could dip your finger in; just to check.
Ingredients:
150g Whole hazelnuts or 150g Hazelnut Butter (Meridian do a good one…)
50g coconut sugar, You can use ordinary caster sugar if you dont have it, BTW it doesn’t taste in least bit ‘coconutty’ for those wondering.
2 Tablespoons Stevia sweetener, this is based on your choice of stevia sweetener being of similar sweetness to sugar in terms of volume (volume wise – that means not necessarily weight wise so measure with tablespoons and definitely read the pack!)
30g Unsweetened Cocoa powder
70g Unsalted Butter or Pure Coconut Oil softened
Splash of water
Pinch Salt
Method:
- Set your oven to 160c
- Spread your hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool. The flavour and texture of most nuts is hugely improved by roasting them for a few minutes. It also helps speed up the pureeing process dramatically.
- Place your roasted nuts into a food processor (it takes a shorter time if they are still warm when you do this) and process until they turn to a smooth paste. This can take a little time! Leave them in the food processor, we are going to add to the nuts!
- Meanwhile, pour the stevia sweetener and the sugar in a saucepan with a splash of water (preferably the sugar is coconut sugar but if you don’t have any, put in your usual refined stuff, you are still halving the sugar in this gorgeous spread after all – so don’t be too hard on yourself.-and heat under a medium heat until the sugars and sweeteners are completely dissolved and you are left with a sugar syrup. Allow to cool.
- Add the butter and cocoa powder to the cooled sugar syrup and beat well with a wooden spoon, you might need a splash of milk to loosen it up a little while you beat.
- Put the chocolate mix into the food processor on top of the pureed nuts and process until smooth, add a couple of splashes of milk to get the desired consistency of a perfectly smooth spread if it needs it. Place into a jar and keep in the fridge. It should keep for a couple of weeks at least (if it lasts that long!)
- Spread it. On everything. And feel really, really good about yourself. (You could do a bit of boasting if you like, it would be entirely understandable.)
