14 November 2012

Vegan Nutella (and adventures in nut-based cheese)

My food processor was one of my favourite purchases of recent memory and I'm making all sorts of saucy concoctions with it. I've tried out a couple of non-dairy cheeses, the first made with walnuts (similar to the recipe that appears here under "Fully Loaded Nachos/Walnut Cheese"--some glorious looking items on that site FYI), and then a couple batches made with cashews (this basic recipe, but I added nutritional yeast and dill and red pepper flakes and possibly some other spices I'm forgetting since that one seemed kind of unadventurous). They were both good but had some downsides. I have yet to get the consistency just right and they're so far much too moist and not firm enough. The walnut cheese was quite good on the nachos, as suggested, and I think had a more intriguing flavour overall, although the cashew cheese was perhaps more like the real stuff overall.

Now, I've moved on to nut butters. I have some almonds raring to go to be made into almond butter but first up was:


Vegan Nutella

1-1/4 cup   raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup   dark brown sugar
1/2 cup   dairy-free dark chocolate chips (I found some of these oddly enough in the fondue area of my closest grocery store, rather than the baking area... your search will hopefully be easier. Godspeed! I've also made my own twist on these vegan cookie dough truffles which included these same chocolate chips, a 'flax egg'--1 tbsp ground flax + 2.5 tbsp warm water & let it chill for five minutes and stir it together--and some coconut milk in place of some of the water. Seriously, everyone needs to go check out Chloe Coscarelli's site: it is a magical land of joy and joyness and you will/already are thank[ing] me for this pro tip. The gal's actually an inspiration to me.)
1/4 cup   canola (or vegetable) oil
1/4 cup   almond milk (or other non-dairy milk... I almost went with coconut)
2 tbsp   cacao powder
1 tsp   salt

Whip it all together in a food processor on a low(er) setting until it looks like Nutella. If it's too dry or thick (fair warning: I like mine on the thick side), feel free to add some more oil a tiny bit at a time. Bam! Done! Have it on some toast! Or toss it in yer baking! I am thinking of baking some dessert with this stuff soon. I'll post the recipe here if I do.

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