Vegan Nutella

By Sarah-Lyn

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Whole Raw Hazelnuts
• 1/2 Cup Icing Sugar
• 1/8 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• Up to 1/8 Cup Vegetable or Nut oil (I used Peanut and only needed half of it)
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 190˚C. Place Hazelnuts in a single layer on a shallow baking pan. Toast until the skins are almost black and the meat is dark brown, about 15 minutes. Stir the Nuts halfway through baking so ensure an even color. (I could only find them without skins so just did the roasting bit).

Since the skin is bitter, you’ll want to discard them. Wrap the cooled hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, and rub until most of the skins have come off. Don't worry though if there's still a little bit of skin, so long as you get most of it.


Process the Nuts in a food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until they have liquefied, about 5 minutes. At first, you will get coarsely chopped nuts, and then it will turn into a fine meal. After a little while, the nuts will form a ball around the blade or just turn into a butter consistency. Keep processing. The heat and friction will extract the natural oils, and you will get hazelnut butter!


When the nuts are liquidized, add in the Sugar, Cocoa and Vanilla. Slowly drizzle in enough Oil to make a spreadable consistency. Since the mixture is warm, it will be more liquid now than at room temperature.


Transfer the spread to an airtight container, and store refrigerated for up to 1 month. For best results, stir the Nutella before using.