Low FODMAP Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

This rich, creamy and delicious spread is the perfect topping for pancakes or slice of sourdough toast.

I’ll admit it takes a fair bit of work and time…but it is well worth it.

My one proviso is don’t attempt this unless you have a powerful blender/processor. I used the nut grinding blade on my 1000 watt Nutribullet and just about made it through with some breaks for everything to cool down. I wouldn’t attempt it with anything less powerful.

The recipe below makes a 250 ml jar, which is around 20 serves. Up to 2 serves is low FODMAP.

Ingredients:

• 250g raw hazelnuts (skins off - see note below)

• ½ cup of pure icing sugar

• ¼ cup of Dutch cocoa powder

• 2 tbsp neutral oil (we used grapeseed oil)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ¼ tsp salt (optional)

Method:

Roast hazelnuts at 175 °C in a single layer on a baking sheet until fragrant (around 8 to 10 mins). Keep an eye on them, you want them just golden, so that you can remove the skins, but not burnt.

Remove skins - wrap in a clean tea towel and rub. This is time consuming, but worth it because the skins are bitter. Expect the 250g to reduce down to 225g, once you discard the burnt ones or the ones with unyielding skins.

Blend into a butter. This will take 5-10 mins depending on your machine. You may need to scrape down the sides at intervals.

Add the icing sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla extract and salt, if using.

Blend until beautifully smooth and glossy - again this will take some time and will heat up the mix.

Store in an airtight jar at room temperature to retain a smooth texture. It will keep for up to 2 weeks. To retain a smooth consistency, do not refrigerate. The sugar will crystallise at low temperatures.