One of my favorite things to make in the VitaMix is my morning smoothie. Only slightly behind smoothies on that list is Nutella. Not just any Nutella mind you. No, mine is more about the hazelnuts and less about the sugar and chemicals. I happen to rather enjoy it.
I started out on a quest to make a sugar free hazelnut spread. I think there is a reason we don't have sugar free hazelnut spread. It sucks. I've tried with Splenda, even blended the Splenda into powdered sugar in order to follow the recipe more fully. I could get something but it was not very good. I think the friction that exists in the mixture does something to the chemical makeup of the Splenda. No, I find that powdered sugar works the best and the recipe I have definitely turns the table on the amount of sugar vs. the amount of hazelnuts. Anyway, I began the quest and came across a fantastic recipe for Nutella at www.sugoodsweets.com/blog/2005/12/nutella/ . This is the base of my recipe. I follow it for how to prepare raw hazelnuts and then use the basic idea of it for making the rest.
When you don't follow an exact recipe there are chances that weird things can happen. This has happened to me especially with the sugar free variety. I accepted the reality that the sugar free was not something I was going to accomplish on my own and the recipe I was basing everything on was a dramatic shift from today's Nutella which is more sugar than anything else. This recipe is more with sugar playing a much less prominent role. As far as the flavor goes, you're going to taste the hazelnuts. There is no getting away from that flavor and it is delicious. If you hope to duplicate Nutella exactly then you need to find a different recipe.
Now, I don't follow the recipe you will find on the link above exactly. I have combined a couple of recipes myself and I don't always go exact on my measurements. As I mentioned I follow the process outlined for how to prepare the hazelnuts. I use a 16 oz bag of hazelnuts minus a few nuts here or there that I eat plain.. I mix them into a butter in the VitaMix and include roasted and salted almonds as well. I found that on a different recipe, they are good. I use an organic coconut oil to help keep the butter smooth. It is great stuff. Don't know how much, I just add it and if I need more I'll add more. I use a few tablespoons of cocoa and then a cup and a half or so of powdered sugar. Next time I will need to actually measure the quantities for those that rely on exact figures in cooking. I just have a feel for it after making it so many times and didn't really focus on quantities today. If you need that in your cooking go to the link provided above and follow the recipe. It is a good one.
Here is a picture of the finished product. Note that it is nice and smooth. I did wait a day after preparing the hazelnuts before I blended them. This was the first time I did that. I had noticed in the past that the amount of heat in the liquid was high and thought it was affecting everything. Anyhow, it still gets hot but it is manageable. Okay, done rambling. Here is the goodness:
I started out on a quest to make a sugar free hazelnut spread. I think there is a reason we don't have sugar free hazelnut spread. It sucks. I've tried with Splenda, even blended the Splenda into powdered sugar in order to follow the recipe more fully. I could get something but it was not very good. I think the friction that exists in the mixture does something to the chemical makeup of the Splenda. No, I find that powdered sugar works the best and the recipe I have definitely turns the table on the amount of sugar vs. the amount of hazelnuts. Anyway, I began the quest and came across a fantastic recipe for Nutella at www.sugoodsweets.com/blog/2005/12/nutella/ . This is the base of my recipe. I follow it for how to prepare raw hazelnuts and then use the basic idea of it for making the rest.
When you don't follow an exact recipe there are chances that weird things can happen. This has happened to me especially with the sugar free variety. I accepted the reality that the sugar free was not something I was going to accomplish on my own and the recipe I was basing everything on was a dramatic shift from today's Nutella which is more sugar than anything else. This recipe is more with sugar playing a much less prominent role. As far as the flavor goes, you're going to taste the hazelnuts. There is no getting away from that flavor and it is delicious. If you hope to duplicate Nutella exactly then you need to find a different recipe.
Now, I don't follow the recipe you will find on the link above exactly. I have combined a couple of recipes myself and I don't always go exact on my measurements. As I mentioned I follow the process outlined for how to prepare the hazelnuts. I use a 16 oz bag of hazelnuts minus a few nuts here or there that I eat plain.. I mix them into a butter in the VitaMix and include roasted and salted almonds as well. I found that on a different recipe, they are good. I use an organic coconut oil to help keep the butter smooth. It is great stuff. Don't know how much, I just add it and if I need more I'll add more. I use a few tablespoons of cocoa and then a cup and a half or so of powdered sugar. Next time I will need to actually measure the quantities for those that rely on exact figures in cooking. I just have a feel for it after making it so many times and didn't really focus on quantities today. If you need that in your cooking go to the link provided above and follow the recipe. It is a good one.
Here is a picture of the finished product. Note that it is nice and smooth. I did wait a day after preparing the hazelnuts before I blended them. This was the first time I did that. I had noticed in the past that the amount of heat in the liquid was high and thought it was affecting everything. Anyhow, it still gets hot but it is manageable. Okay, done rambling. Here is the goodness:
Now, my next big challenge, learn how to make it without grabbing a spoon afterwards and eating it like ice cream... Can't help it, I love the stuff.
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