The quest for homemade Nutella started some time ago when my son was doing a project on orangutans in the rainforest which lead us to discuss palm oil production and its devastating effects.
Conventional palm oil production is one of the prime causes of deforestation leading to the loss of habitat for orangutans who have also been known to suffer horrible mutilation injuries from farmers when trying to reclaim their territories. I am happy to relate that since January 2015, Ferrero (the makers of Nutella) is now using 100% segregated Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil certified palm oil. If you are interested in buying products made from sustainable palm oil do visit the RSPO website for more details.
After the initial excitement of “We are going to make Nutella at home” we went through a trial and error period. My judging panel was hard to please – too hard, not sweet enough, not creamy enough, too many hazelnuts ….
My quest for homemade Nutella rekindled last month as I was looking for a healthier version than the store-bought alternative. Excitement filled the kitchen and four little hands instantly volunteered but I knew they would be hard to please. We started from scratch again but this time we found a formula we are all happy with! Obviously, it did raise the question “Now that we made healthier Nutella does this mean we can eat it every day? 🙂 ” . . . nice try!
I used raw cacao powder as it boosts antioxidants and magnesium. It is also unprocessed and sugar-free. You can buy it in health stores (it is different from cocoa powder which you find in the baking section). If you prefer using cocoa powder, you will have to adjust the quantities. I also added agave syrup (a natural sweetener) instead of sugar. We found that hazelnut skin did have some bitterness so we opted for blanched hazelnut instead.
You do need a fairly powerful blender as the nuts will need to be grinded to a paste. Aside from this, the rest is pretty straightforward. Enjoy!
Homemade Nutella Recipe
Ingredients
- 200g hazelnuts without skin [7oz / US 1 1/2 cup]
- 1 Tbsp hazelnut oil
- 5-7 Tbsp almond milk or oat milk
- 3-4 Tbsp raw cacao powder
- 4-5 Tbsp agave syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
- Place hazelnuts on an oven tray and roast for 15 mins.
- Transfer hazelnuts to a blender. Add the rest of the ingredients except the almond milk.
- Whizz ingredients together, adding the milk 1 to 2 Tbsp at a time until you have a smooth and spreadable paste.
- Adjust chocolate and sugar to suit your own taste.
Other things you might enjoy reading
Leave a Reply