If you can’t win them, join them. If brat junior is going to eat sweet chocolate spread, then the least I can do is make sure it’s dark and not overly sweet. I have tried a few different recipes, including some using condensed milk (too sweet) and others using some other form of dairy (short shelf life). My favourite is the one from America’s Test Kitchen. Re-engineering favourites is their area of expertise, and this is a winner.
Prep Time | 10 min |
Cook Time | 15 min |
Servings |
ml
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- 2 cups hazelnuts skinned see notes if using skin-on nuts
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil use groundnut, if you don’t stock hazelnut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Ingredients
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|
- Preheat the oven to 190C or 170C fan. Place hazelnuts in single layer on a baking tray and roast until fragrant and golden brown, 10-12 minutes.
- Process hazelnuts in a food processor until the oil starts getting released and a smooth, loose paste forms, about 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl often. (I sometimes use my trusty Indian grinder as it makes for a finer paste, but a food processor is fine too; but will produce a coarser result).
- Add sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla, and salt and process until fully incorporated and mixture begins to loosen slightly and becomes glossy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Transfer spread to jar with tight-fitting lid. The spread can be stored at cool room temperature for a month. If the oil settles at the top, just stir it back in before using.
- Apart from toast, the kids love to eat it with homemade vanilla bean ice-cream. Decadent!
If you buy hazelnuts with the skin on, the best way to skin them is to blanch them in water with some added baking soda. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the hazelnuts and 6 tablespoons baking soda and boil for 3 minutes. Drain and pop the nuts into an ice bath to cool quickly. Once cool, drain and rub the skins off with a dish towel.