Following on from seeing a post on Facebook that linked to an Insider magazine article about what goes in to each 'innocent' jar of Nutella, I thought I'd post a simple recipe for making your own version.
Admittedly I've never really studied what goes in to each jar, but looking at this graphic, and knowing how prolific the use of palm oil and sugar is in processed foods, it doesn't really surprise - almost half a jar is sugar, gulp! Not really the healthy breakfast options for kids the marketing campaign might lead people to believe.
Yes, there is still sugar in this recipe, but by using good quality dark chocolate (70%) which contains approximately 25g per 100g, and honey, the quantities are reduced. Sustainable sunflower or rapeseed oil is also used in place of palm oil.
INGREDIENTS
150g blanched hazelnuts
150g dark chocolate (or a mixture of milk and dark if you'd prefer)
2tbsp honey
2tbsp sunflower oil
pinch of salt
150ml whole milk
1. Brown the nuts in a pan on the stove over a low heat for about 10 mins, moving them around fairly frequently, or roast them in an oven. Be careful as they can go from being nicely browned to burnt very quickly!
2. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or use a bain marie
3. Blitz the nuts in a food processor - you can choose how coarse you want your spread - and then add the honey, oil and salt.
4. Take the nut paste and add to the melted chocolate.
5. Scald the milk and gradually add to the chocolate nut mixture. Mix thoroughly and check the taste - add more salt or honey as required.
This will keep in a jar in the fridge for a week.
This can be used as a filling for cakes, tartlets, eclairs, or eaten with a spoon on it's own like most people do with Nutella ;-)