Chocolate nut butter
Ready-made chocolate nut spreads tend to contain a lot of refined sugar, as well as palm oil and dairy products – and often far fewer nuts than you would hope for. This easy home-made version knocks the socks off any of them: sweetened with honey and packed with nuts, coconut oil and cocoa, it’s both deliciously nutty and divinely chocolatey. The texture is thicker and firmer than a shop-bought spread. Try it slathered generously on to oatcakes for breakfast and topped with a couple of slices of banana. It’s also brilliant on pancakes. Toasting the nuts adds real depth of flavour to the spread – you can buy them ready-toasted to save time.
Method
If your nuts aren’t already toasted, preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Put the nuts on a baking tray and toast lightly for 5–10 minutes, until golden. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Leave to cool completely.
Put the toasted nuts in a food processor with all the other ingredients and 3 tablespoons water. Process to a thick, slightly grainy paste, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides. Transfer to a jar and cover. The delicate nut oils will go off quickly if left at room temperature, so store in the fridge and use within a week.
Ingredients
- 200g blanched hazelnuts or almonds, ready-toasted if you like
- 100g runny honey
- 50g odourless coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt (optional)
This recipe is taken from...
If you like this recipe, you might like the following course...
Four Days at River Cottage
The ultimate in rural retreats, our four-day cookery course is a celebration of meat, fish, veg, baking and all things delicious.
Full details