Nutella, Newtalla

When I was in university, Nutella on graham crackers was its own food group. I may have also ate a lot of it with a spoon, right out of the jar. And on toast, with bananas. My Nutella days ended when I finally read the ingredients on the label. Ingredient number one? Sugar. Followed by a bunch of other crap.

No thanks. I’d rather not have my day get off to a jittery start. But I really loved that chocolate-nut flavour.

“If I had a Vita-mix, I could make Nutella”, I used to say to Tall Guy.

“Or, we could forget Nutella and just buy some Nocilla”, he would reply.

 

(Nocilla is the Spanish version of Nutella. No es lo mismo - it really is not the same thing.)

 

“Think of the money we would save”, I would say.

 

“I think you mean, 'Think of the money we would spend.' We would need to buy a Vita-mix, which costs more than the chocolate spreads we currently do not buy...”

 

Hmmm. True.

 

But then, for my 28^th birthday (the best birthday yet, by the way), a miracle happened: Tall Guy and I saw a Vita-mix demonstration in a Whole Foods Market, and a red Vita-mix simultaneously found its way into Tall Guy’s heart and our shopping cart.

 

I wanted to try this recipe, but I didn’t have a coconut and I couldn’t find the xylitol (ah, the joys of moving). Oh well, another time... But I really, really wanted to make Nutella today. So I made up my own version. Here they are, instructions for Newtalla (heh heh):

 

First, in a glass measuring jug (or your measuring cups, if you can’t find your Pyrex), add:

• ½ C milk (dairy or non dairy – I used whole organic cow’s milk)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• ¼ C xylitol (I used agave today instead)
• ¼ C cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp stevia
• 3 tbsp coconut oil (leave out if using agave)
• a pinch of salt

Leave this beside your Vita-mix.

Then, put 200 g (about two cups) of frozen hazelnuts (after hours, literally hours, of Vita-mix-nut-butter internet investigations, I decided frozen was the way to go – a creamier butter and less chance of overheating the mixer) into the Vita-mix*. Do not be afraid. My heart was pounding, but you just have to go for it – the Vita-mix is a tough old beast and will survive nut butter making. Turn it on, up to 10, and high, then use the tamper to cream the nuts. This doesn’t take too long – less than two minutes.

(It will be very loud – your neighbours will think you are renovating. You can make it up to them by gifting a jar of Newtalla .)

DO NOT TURN THE VITA-MIX OFF! Wipe off your sweaty palms, take out the tamper and pour the rest of the ingredients in. Take a deep breath to calm your pounding heart – the Vita-Mix will not burn out. Your jug will not melt. Put the tamper back in and push things around until they are blended.

Turn off the machine and scrape into a jar. This makes about a cup and three quarters. Sort of. It is possible that it actually makes two cups – I may have done some sampling whilst scraping out the mixing jug.

Before cleaning, pour in some filtered water and blend for about 30 seconds, and voila, a Newtalla byproduct: frothy choco-hazelnut coffee milk for my morning cafe. Kind of like a healthy, homemade CoffeeMate.

And there you have it: Guilt-free Newtalla.

Well, that’s not quite true. When your husband comes home and says, “hey, weren’t you going to make Newtella today?” and you’ve already eaten it all, you may feel slightly guilty.

*you could maybe use a food processor to make this, but definitely not a mini-blender. I have tried making nut butter in the Magic Bullet and it just doesn’t happen. Really, you should just get a Vita-mix, since obviously it is amazing.