NOTella
I may get sued for that name, but.. hey. It’s NOT-ella. Get it? Try this super tasty and super simple 3 ingredient hazelnut chocolate spread, which will last you ages (unless you eat it all in one sitting, which is entirely possible).
I’m learning!
About 2 years ago, in the first year of The From Scratch Body, I shared a recipe for a chocolate hazelnut spread that I’d made. It was a combination of learning (and yes, stealing) from other people’s recipes, and changing it up a little bit with what I felt worked for me. It is still a delicious recipe and I’m leaving it up for anyone who wants to do a more complex version. However, it is exactly that, more complex. Quite a lot of ingredients and processes. I found myself never really making it - and thought, that doesn’t really fit with the ethos of TFSB, I try to keep ingredient count lower and processes simple so that you can easily keep track of what you’ve put in your body, and also - easily make it in the first place! I kept thinking about it and after becoming more experienced in the kitchen it hit me that this recipe could be so much easier. So I tried a new version. And it had simply 3 ingredients. Hazelnuts make a lovely texture on their own, you literally just have to toast them, peel them and blitz them in the food processor and they will naturally turn in to “butter” (paste). By the way, they may be as delicious with skin on (and that way you also get more antioxidants) so I’ll try that next time and keep you posted on what I think. Or you can try it and let me know what you think!
Secondly, we want the chocolatey flavour, right? But we don’t want to pump lots of sugary chocolate into something we are potentially having for breakfast, or… any other time of day really. Sugar is not a horrible evil thing we have to avoid at all cost, but it’s better to stay on top of exactly how much we really need. Often things we make taste super sweet with way less sugar or sweetener than we think we need. That’s what I wanted to test with this one. So my next ingredient was cocoa. Lovely, healthy cocoa powder which blends easily, but is of course a bit bitter in taste. I mixed together the two and then tried to go carefully with the final ingredient, powdered sugar (also known as icing sugar or frosting sugar). Powdered sugar serves two great purposes in this case, it makes it sweeter of course, but also thickens the mix (you will know this if you’ve ever mixed powdered sugar and water!). I tasted my way to what I found to be the perfect texture and sweetness level, but you can of course experiment with this yourself and go more or less. And that’s it! 3 ingredients, all super long lasting so you can keep this in your cupboard, and pretty decent for your health as well. Give this recipe a go and let me know what you thought!
NOTella - 3 ingredient hazelnut chocolate spread
Makes one large jar
Time: Roasting: 8 mins | Mixing: 5 mins | Total time: Roughly 15 mins
3 cups raw hazelnuts
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup powdered (icing/frosting) sugar
Preheat the oven to 180ºC if oven assisted, 190ºC for other ovens (375ºF).
Spread the hazelnuts out on a baking tray and roast them for about 8-10 minutes depending on your oven. Keep an eye on them, nuts can burn fast!
Let the nuts cool and rub them with a clean tea towel, most of the skins will come off quite easily. Some might be tougher and you have to peel by hand. Be zen with it and enjoy the activity if you can (or get some helpers!).
Mix the hazelnuts in a food processor. When they start to turn into a paste, add the cocoa powder. Let it keep blitzing until it has become a proper nut butter consistency, and quite runny. Add the powdered sugar and taste to decide if it is sweet enough in flavour and thick enough in consistency. If you want more sweetness or to make the spread less runny, you can add more powdered sugar. Keep in mind that the spread does thicken a tiny bit as it rests in the cupboard.
Transfer to a jar and keep in your cupboard! All 3 ingredients are quite long lasting, so this should be safe in a cool cupboard for a good while.
Did you make the Notella? Did you like it? Share on Instagram and tag @TheFromScratchBody and hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!
