Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

It's no secret that I'm a bit of a chocoholic!  Though due to dairy intolerance, I can't really have milk chocolate, as much as I do miss it!  Luckily there are some really good quality brands of dark chocolate around.  I also love the combination of chocolate and coconut - so that brings me to this recipe!  It's quite pricey to buy a good quality organic chocolate hazelnut spread.  So I decided to make my own!  This spread is lovely and made with real, wholesome ingredients.  Hope you enjoy it!  In the pic above, my 3yo is having some on a strawberry!

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar (I used rapadura)
1/4 cup cacao liquor/dark chocolate/cacao nibs (I used Loving Earth cacao liquor)
1/2 cup hazelnuts, roasted, cooled and skinned

1/3 cup cacao powder

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

1.  Ensuring you are working with super dry equipment, process the sugar and cacao liquor (or chocolate or cacao nibs) on high speed (10sec/sp9 in Thermomix).

2.  Add hazelnuts and process for a few more seconds (5sec/sp9 in Thermomix).

3.  Into a saucepan on low heat, add the processed sugar, cacao and hazelnuts and remaining ingredients, except the vanilla.  Stir until smooth, adding the vanilla in the last few seconds (or add remaining ingredients except vanilla to processed mixture in Thermomix bowl and cook 3min/50deg/sp3, adding the vanilla in the last 10 seconds or so of cooking)

4.  Pour into a sterilised jar and keep in the fridge.  The spread will thicken quite a lot once it cools. So make sure you take the jar out of the fridge 15 minutes or so before you want to use it to allow it time to soften slightly to a more spreadable consistency.