Candlemas: An Easy Recipe For Homemade Nutella
On Candlemas Day, there are those who top their sweet pancakes with jam and those who prefer hazelnut spread. For the spread team members, here is an easy homemade Nutella recipe with only three ingredients.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make three small jars of homemade Nutella-style spread:
375 g hazelnuts
400 g milk chocolate
50 g grape seed oil
Preparation of the hazelnuts
To make homemade Nutella, use whole hazelnuts and roast them in the oven.
1- Preheat your oven to 160°C.
2- Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer.
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3- Put the baking sheet in the oven and toast the hazelnuts for 20 minutes to roast them.
4- Halfway through cooking, lightly shake the baking sheet so that the hazelnuts roast on all sides.
5- After removing from the oven, let the hazelnuts cool by pouring them onto another baking sheet. You will notice that their skin will crackle and fall off.
6- Use a clean tea towel to rub the hazelnuts and remove their skin. This is known as trimming the hazelnuts.
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To note: this first step of preparing the hazelnuts may seem tedious. But it's the secret to a successful homemade Nutella because it enhances the hazelnut flavor of your spread and provides a better texture by removing the skins from the hazelnuts.
Preparation of the spread
1- Break the milk chocolate into a heatproof container and place it on a double boiler to melt.
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2- When the chocolate is smooth and shiny, let it cool before using.
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3- Pour the roasted and ground hazelnuts into the bowl of a blender.
4- Blend for a long time, in several steps, until you obtain a slightly oily hazelnut paste with a texture similar to peanut butter.
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5- Add the melted chocolate and grapeseed oil and blend until you get a spread with little hazelnut chips.
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6- Pour your homemade Nutella into small glass jars previously scalded for better preservation.
Copyright: Audrey Vautherot
Tasting advice
On Pancakes for Candlemas or on toast for breakfast, this spread is very similar to Nutella.
You will be amazed by its nutty taste, the only difference with the Italian brand being in the texture.
With a non-professional blender, it is difficult to obtain a perfectly smooth spread.
But this slight flaw is offset by other advantages, including no palm oil or added sugar in the recipe.
Since this homemade spread is still a fatty, sweet product, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a healthy food... But homemade allows you to choose better ingredients, without sacrificing deliciousness.
