Fragrant Vanilla Cake

Tag: nutella

  • Vegan Nutella Swirl Brownies

    Vegan Nutella Swirl Brownies

    I saw a recipe for Nutella brownies on Pinterest, and I said to myself, “I have to veganize those!!!”  I have tons of hazelnut butter on hand, and was in a chocolate craving mood so it was perfect!  I never buy actual real Nutella anymore because it is not vegan and contains mostly sugar and oil, but I used to love it as a kid. I mean, it was kind of an excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast on toast.  Not that it was a healthy breakfast, but I really didn’t care at that point.  I now make my own home made nutella and it is so much better.  The main ingredient is hazelnuts as it should be.  I love just plain old hazelnut butter as well.  I imagined these brownies as super decadent and rich with the nutella filling becoming almost a fudge or cheesecake like texture.  Fudgy brownies have always been my favorite, I am not of the cakey brownie camp at all. Well, I think I did pretty well with these creating my dream brownies.

    I used my classic brownie base which is rich from the avocado oil and sweetened with coconut sugar  For an added bonus, it is a gluten free batter as well, and you can’t even tell.  I added some hazelnut butter to it to to make it extra rich.  If you are going for an oil free version, I will note that you can use applesauce in place of the avocado oil, but keep in mind the texture of the brownies will be slightly less rich.  The batter tastes amazing even before baking, but you know what is even more tasty?  The nutella swirl that ribbons through it.  For that, I kind of made a variation of what I use in  my cheesecake brownies, only swapping hazelnut butter for the cashew butter and adding cacao powder to make it extra chocolaty and delicious.  I mean, this stuff is so good you could eat it with a spoon.  These brownies take about a half an hour to bake, and it is kinda torture and heaven at the same time as you sit and smell them.  That aroma always puts me in a good mood.  You can’t possibly remain crabby while baking brownies.  Not with licking the batter from the bowl, smelling the deliciousness as they bake and being able to taste them once they cool enough to cut. Happiness in a pan.

    Once they were cooled enough to cut I was getting excited.  They looked like the perfect brownies. When I cut into them, I could tell they were going to be just my style.  Nice and fudgy, melt in your mouth rich chocolate with that nutty hazelnut flavor.  And you know what?  These are especially for those of you that like the center pieces of brownies because these are all fudgy and all taste like center pieces as long as you do not over bake them.  I honestly think they are some of the best brownies I have tasted.  If you are a brownie lover, or have ever been a fan of Nutella I think you might just need these in your life!

    Vegan Nutella Swirl Brownies
    Makes 16

    Swirl:

    • 3/4 cup thick coconut milk (from the top of a chilled can)
    • 3/4 cup hazelnut butter (or almond butter will also work here)
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup cacao powder

     

    Brownies:

    • 1/2 cup avocado oil
    • 1/4 cup hazelnut butter
    • 1 cup coconut sugar
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water mixed with 2 Tbsp ground flax seeds
    • 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all-purpose flour*
    • 1/2 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
    • ½ cup vegan chocolate chips

     

    Directions:

    1. To make the swirl, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
      To make the brownies, pre-heat the oven to 350F degrees.
    2. Whisk together the sugar, oil and hazelnut butter until well combined and the sugar is starting to break down. Add the flax mixture and and beat until smooth. Add the flour, cacao powder and sea salt and beat until smooth.
    3. Scrape the batter into a greased 8×8 inch pan, then drop the swirl over it in 2 Tbsp amounts, and swirl it with a knife.
    4. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Place in the oven, and Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until set (but do not over bake).
    5. Let cool before cutting into bars.

    *If you want to make these with whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour and not make these gluten free, just swap them one to one for the gluten free flour.

  • Vegan Hazelnut Truffle Eggs

    Vegan Hazelnut Truffle Eggs

    Easter is coming up, so I thought it was about time I made some Easter treats.  When I was little, I was never a big fan of the jelly beans and Peeps.  I was all about the chocolate candies.  Reese’s peanut butter eggs were my favorite.  I have made my own before in recent years and they were wonderful and even better than the store bought ones.  So I thought why not make a twist on those and use hazelnut butter and chocolate for the filling?

    hazelnut chocolate eggs 3

    Sounded good to me, I love home made Nutella, and hazelnuts and chocolate are always a hit with everyone I know. So, I made some pretty simple truffle eggs.  Only 5 ingredients total, so anyone can do this!  If it is not around Easter, you do not have to shape them into eggs, but I think they are cute, and I have fun playing with my food.  It was sort of like molding play dough.

    hazelnut chocolate eggs 4

    For the filling, I used my own home made hazelnut butter, some cacao powder, a touch of maple syrup and sea salt.  It tasted like the most delicious fudge.  I shaped it into eggs, and dipped them into vegan dark chocolate.  I used a brand I am currently in love with that is local to me, LUV dark chocolate. It is sugar free, made from good ingredients and my favorite go to chocolate indulgence simple snack lately.

    hazelnut chocolate eggs 2

    The eggs were sooo good!  It would have been awesome to have treats like these in my Easter basket as a kid, and I would have loved them.  They are right up there with the peanut butter eggs! What is your favorite Easter candy?

    hazelnut chocolate eggs

    Vegan Hazelnut Truffle Eggs

    Filling:

    1 cup hazelnut butter*

    2/3 cup cacao powder or as needed*

    2 Tbsp maple syrup (or to taste)

    pinch sea salt

    Coating:

    1 cup chopped good quality vegan dark chocolate

    In a bowl, mix together the filling ingredients until smooth.  You want it to be the consistency of dough so you can shape it into eggs.  If it is too soft add a little more cacao powder, too hard, a little a touch of water or a little more maple syrup. Shape into 10 eggs, and place on a foil lined tray.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to chill.  Once the filling has chilled, melt the dark chocolate in the top of a double boiler.  Dip each egg into the melted dark chocolate, then place it back on the tray.  Allow the chocolate to set, which will happen faster if you pop them in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.

    *Since hazelnut butter varies in how smooth it is, the cacao powder amount may vary in this recipe.

    To make your own hazelnut butter, place 3 cups hazelnuts into  a high speed blender and blend until smooth, using the tamper to press them down into the blades (if you need to add a little (like a Tbsp at a time) hazelnut, walnut or almond oil to make it smoother if it seems too dry and is not blending smoothly).  You can also make it in a food processor, but keep in mind it will take a long time, and you have to scrape it down a lot.  Also, it will most likely not get very smooth.

    **If you want to make this recipe raw, use raw hazelnut butter, raw cacao powder, and raw dark chocolate.  When melting the dark chocolate be sure that it stays below 115F degrees.