Is Homemade Nutella as Good as the Real Thing?

Hazelnuts and chocolate: Is this pair the new peanut butter and chocolate?

My latest cookbook, Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck, is proving to be one of my favorites, and here’s why: page 70. That page is home to a recipe for Decadent Chocolate-Hazelnut Butter. Kevin says I’m obsessed with nutella the way he’s obsessed with duck fat. I’m pretty sure that’s not true because I’m not sneaking nutella into my spaghetti. But nutella is one of the loves of my life. So, I decided to accept Speck’s challenge and create this delicious confection for myself.

First, I gathered the two ingredients that matter most: hazelnuts and dark chocolate (I used 73% cacao). Yum! Of course, I had to sample both for a quality check. We’re good to go. Wait, just one more…

Roasted hazelnuts and ground hazelnuts with sugar

Next I toasted the hazelnuts. A hefty cast-iron skillet is handy for this task. Simply pour a 1/2 cup of hazelnuts into a pan over medium heat and toast until the nuts become fragrant and slightly charred—5 to 7 minutes. (This is also a great way to roast sesame seeds, almonds, etc.) Then put the nuts into a clean dishcloth and rub until the loose skins come off. Allow to cool. By now the kitchen should smell amazing. Who needs candles when you’re cooking like this?

Next, I combined the roasted hazelnuts with 2 tablespoons of sugar and ground them in a food processor until very fine. Meanwhile,  I heated ½ cup of heavy whipping cream until almost boiling and then poured the cream over 2 ounces of the chocolate. I gently whisked the mixture until well blended. Then I combined the chocolate with the nut mixture, 1 tablespoon of coffee (any type will do; I used a Kona blend), and ⅛ teaspoon of vanilla extract. The recipe actually calls for a dark rum or hazelnut liquor, but I decided to use coffee because it is known to enhance the flavor of chocolate.

Really? Is that all there is to it? No, the hardest part is waiting. The mixture needs to cool for an hour with the lid off. Sampling is strongly encouraged. Quality is so important. After an hour, cover and put the nutella in the refrigerator overnight to firm up. The nutella keeps in the refrigerator for 10 days. But it won’t last that long.

How does it taste? It tastes like a nutritious version of nutella. You get the grainy texture from the hazelnuts that’s missing in the store brand. Frankly, I’ve often wondered if hazelnuts are even in the store brand, so tasting them here is a good thing. Also, there’s a lot less sugar in the homemade version, which is also a good thing. I did want more chocolate flavor. Next time I might use Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips, which have a slightly lower cacao count but an amazing flavor. I use these bittersweet chips in anything that calls for chocolate.

Nutella pairs with crepes almost as well as hazelnuts pair with chocolate.

One thing you can do while waiting for the nutella to firm up is make crepes. Crepes don’t care if the nutella is runny.