I came across this recipe in “La Cucina Italiana” magazine. I’ve had the page of the recipe folded over for 4 months now. Today I finally made it, and boy am I glad I did. Making your own Nutella (I know, Nutella is a brand) is super easy. The store bought stuff doesn’t even compare to the homemade version.
It’s basically 4 simple steps and you are left with the most amazing result. You can use this on toast, fruit, frosting, cupcakes, ice cream, spoons, fingers and on and on. After having it on strawberries, vanilla ice cream and on Melba toast, I am left with half a jar. It’s kind of like eating chips, once you start it’s hard to stop. If I don’t stop, I’ll be eating lettuce for the next week.
While you are getting all your ingredients together, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Take 1 cup (5 ounces) of raw hazelnuts and spread them onto a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes until fragrant and golden.
Remove from oven and wrap hazelnuts in a kitchen towel. Now rub to remove loose skin. Don’t worry if all the skin does not come off. This step is just to remove loose skin.
Combine hazelnuts, 8 ounces of good quality milk chocolate, 1/4 cup Demerara sugar and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a food processor. The Demerara sugar gives the Gianduja a really nice slight crunchy texture. If you do not want that texture, you can use 1 cup of powdered sugar. In my opinion, it’s better with the Demerara sugar. I found Demerara sugar at Whole Foods Market.
Blend till smooth….
Slowly adding 1/4 cup of grapeseed oil as it blends.
Purée until nice and smooth.
Transfer the spread to airtight containers. I used mason jars. As you can see, it made 1 1/2 jars.
Let stand at room temperature for about 2 days, until thickened. You can also thicken it in the fridge for 2 hours, or use it immediately as a dip or drizzle.
The Gianduja will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 month or refrigerated for up to 3 months. To make chilled Gianduja more spreadable, heat in microwave for about 5 seconds.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 cup (5 ounces) raw unsalted hazelnuts
8 ounces good quality milk chocolate (I used Ghirardelli)
1/4 cup Demerara sugar (1 cup powdered sugar can be substituted)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 grapeseed oil
Method:
preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread hazelnuts onto a baking sheet. Toast for 10 to 15 minutes. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and rub to remove loose skins. No worries if all the skin does not come off. While nuts are still warm, combine with chocolate, sugar and salt in a food processor. Blend until smooth, slowly adding the grapeseed oil.
Transfer to airtight containers.
Let stand at room temperature for 2 to 3 days until thickened. You can speed up the thickening process by placing into the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
The spread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month, or in the fridge for up to 3 months. To make chilled spread more spreadable, microwave for about 5 seconds.
Enjoy!
Makes about 1 1/2 jars, depending on jar size.
Recipe by Karen DeMasco, pastry chef at Locanda Verde in New York City
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