I may have a deep and abiding love for Nutella. Ironically, I’m sitting here with a jar eating it by the spoonful when I correct this. People send me pins for Nutella recipes all the time. I like it. But I also love making things from scratch with love. I love real food, Nutella is processed and manufactured. When I got my Blendtec I knew it was time to start making my own. I have no more excuses. I try to replicate a creamy sauce using the best ingredients I can.
So I went to the bulk section of the grocery store and bought hazelnuts and found that I could have sworn they were hazelnuts but were labeled as filberts. I had never heard of hazelnuts so I went home empty handed and still swear they looked exactly like hazelnuts. I looked it up and found hazelnut is another name for hazelnut. When I went back to the store, I saw hazelnuts with small print and parentheses on the label. God, I feel so stupid.
The raw ingredients listed on a jar of Nutella are sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, whey with reduced minerals (milk), lecithin (soy) as an emulsifier, vanillin: an artificial flavor. I’m not going to mass produce and sell it, so I forgo the emulsifier. Since I made it from scratch and it was fresh, I also decided to up my game and use heavy cream instead of milk and real milk chocolate instead of cocoa. Guys, this stuff is good. It’s quality, luxury and decadence. Is it the same? No, the texture is a bit different as it doesn’t really feel smooth and greasy. You can add palm oil, but I kind of like leaving it out. Still, I know my peanut butter and it tastes great.
production time: 10 minutes
yield: about 2 cups
raw material
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 pound (8 ounces) milk chocolate, roughly chopped
2 cups hazelnuts
2 TB palm oil (optional)
instruct
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place in a plastic bag. Shake to remove skin. Pick the hazelnuts without their skins and discard the skins.
3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once brought to a simmer, remove from heat and pour over chocolate in a medium mixing bowl.
2. In a high-powder blender (such as Blendtec) or heavy-duty food processor, process hazelnuts with palm oil (optional) until a smooth consistency is achieved.
3. Combine the chocolate mixture with the hazelnut spread in a blender or processor. Blend until smooth.
4. Store in an airtight container such as a canning jar in the refrigerator.
This post was sponsored by Blendtec. All opinions expressed are my own.