B's Bakes: Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Is it me or is Nutella one of those foods that have just sky-rocketed to cult status?

In the blink of an eye, it's gone from being an average chocolate spread to being some kind of instagram-able pledge of allegiance. And if you've got a personalised jar, well you can expect your likes to double for sure! As a die-hard praline fan, I appreciate a good hazelnut, I do. However, I've taken to trying to avoid foods that don't feel natural or nourishing to my body, and while it may be delicious in all it's sugar-coma inducing glory, not even I can defend that nutritional index. 

For this very reason, we decided to work on a clean version. A version that wouldn't spike your sugar levels quite in the same drastic way, and that contained good fats and natural sugars. Hazelnuts are also little powerhouses of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin E and copper, manganese and iron which work together to help to assist in proper growth and bone formation, and protect against premature ageing.

To make you will need:

200g Hazelnuts

50g Cacao powder

90g Honey/Maple syrup

120ml Almond milk

1Tbsp Almond Butter

1Tbsp Vanilla

Recipe makes around 2 jam jars

1. Toast your hazelnuts in the oven on a medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Keep checking every few minutes as you really don't want them to burn. When these are toasted, transfer to food processor and blitz into a fine grain.

2. In the food processor, add the honey, cacao powder and vanilla essence and blend into a thick paste-like consistency, similar to that which you would expect when making bliss balls.

3. Add the milk to the food processor, while blending at a slow speed. Feel free to adjust the amount according to whether you prefer a thicker or a runnier spread. Keep in mind however that it will firm up in the fridge.

4. Lastly, add the almond butter and give the mixture a final blend to make sure everything is creamy and thoroughly combined.

5. Decant into your clean jam jars and keep in the fridge.

This jar of deliciousness tastes great straight off the spoon, drizzled over fresh berries, spread onto ricecakes and stuffed into medjool dates. There really is no limit to it's versatility, so go wild and enjoy!

By Becky Symes