Homemade Nutella recipe

Oh Nutella... how do I love thee? let me count the ways.

Thanks for the line Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but there are too many.


My relationship with Nutella has been fraught throughout the years.
Funnily enough, we never actually had it in the house when I was growing up, which meant that my chubby 13 year old self would only get the chance to enjoy it at my pals after school, usually on top of a co-op crumpet, swirled with 'Utterly Butterly' alongside a cup of milky tea/hot chocolate... oh the sweet carb innocence of youth.
When I got to Uni this all changed, my Irish housemate always kept a huge tub in his cupboard, hidden behind his 'All bran' in a hopeless attempt to stop fellow housemates from eating it... alas it was a shit hiding space mate. 
I would sneak in after a night out or just when I knew he was in bed/out and eat spoonfuls of the chocolatey goodness before slipping it neatly back behind the cereal... I feel for the poor fellow, but really he should have hidden it better, or at least kept it in his room. (I realize that this is no excuse for stealing, but get over it, it's only Nutella, there's nothing else that will drive me to steal) 
Fast forward a few months and a few doctors appointments later, I found out the reason for the terrible stomach cramps, that had been plaguing me a while, was down to IBS caused by a lactose intolerance. As a glutton of epic proportions, this was a blow to me (and probably karma for stealing my housemates Nutella) No more lattes, no more ice cream, Cadbury's fruit and nut, cheese and of course, no more facking Nutella... I tried alternatives, i.e 'dark chocolate spread' but it wasn't the same in anyway shape or form, in fact it was depressingly unsatisfying. And so I sought another way to satisfy my Nutella cravings. And it actually turned out to be pretty easy to make... 

So here is my recipe for

 'Homemade Healthy Hazelnut Spread'

(ps for the calorie conscious among us this only comes in at about 36 kcal per tbsp... winner)

180 g hazelnuts
50g cocoa powder or if you're feeling extra healthy/flush unrefined cacoa powder (available from most health stores)
120ml unsweetened almond milk
itsp vanilla powder
2 tbsp of stevia (to taste)
1tsp rock salt (to taste)

Preheat the oven to 350 f or 180 fan
Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes
Pull the skins of the hazelnuts. Transfer hazelnuts to food processor and blend until smooth and buttery, stopping to scrape down as needed, about 10 minutes.

Add in remaining ingredients and blend, adding in more or less sweetener and salt to taste. 
transfer to a 16 ounce jar. It will keep in the fridge for a week.. but will it really last that long?