Choconutella

    Not exactly a vegan nutella, but inspired by it, this chocolate-hazelnut spread is a ticket to sweet heaven, one spoonful at a time! The end result will depend on the quality of the chocolate you use, so choose good quality. I used 90% cacao and it was, as you can imagine, quite dark but I sweetened it with maple syrup. A little tip: do not use too much sweetener as it changes the texture of the spread, it hardens it quite a bit, so it's best to go with a slightly sweeter chocolate than the one I used this time, go for 75% cacao or less. You will need a good food processor for this, the stronger-the better as you need to grind the hazelnuts until they turn to butter. My food processor, as dear as it is to me, is not strong enough to create a smooth result, but we all liked loved it anyway. Oh, I forgot to mention that your house will smell simply divine!

 Ingredients

- 2 cups hazelnuts

- 100 g dark chocolate

- 1 tablespoon coconut oil

- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or more)

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 pinch sea salt

 Start by toasting the hazelnuts in the oven, at 350 F, for about 12 minutes. Let cool slightly, then place on a tea towel, cover with a part of the tea towel and rub hazelnuts to remove skins. If there are still some stubborn hazelnuts that won't shed their skins, just pick them in your hand and rub them against each-other. That should do the trick. If there are any bits of skins left on, no big deal, after all this is a homemade dessert, it does not need to be perfect. Place hazelnuts in food processor and grind until you reach a buttery consistency, it will take a few good minutes, depending on your food processor. Meanwhile, in a double boiler, melt the chocolate. When hazelnuts have turned to butter, add the melted chocolate, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and sea salt. Pulse until combined, taste and adjust sweetness level to your preference (remember, the more maple syrup you add, the harder the consistency of the spread). Place choconutella in a jar and keep at room temperature. Enjoy!

Place toasted hazelnuts on a tea towel.

Cover the hazelnuts with a part of the tea towel they are resting on, and rub to remove skins.

If you have some stubborn hazelnuts that refuse to have their skins removed, simply pick them up in your hand and rub them against each-other.

Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor until you reach a buttery consistency.

Add melted chocolate, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract and sea salt and pulse to combine.