As Jane Austen said (albeit in a somewhat different context), "it is a truth universally acknowledged" that the world loves Nutella!  Nutella, however, is a very guilty indulgence, with palm oil and sugar as the two biggest ingredients, and hazelnuts only making up 13% of the total. 

A long-term dream of mine has been to come up with a less guilty pleasure and just a few real ingredients, no junk and additives.  I was lucky to learn the basics when I studied with Ramon Morato in May, but in spite of his version's yummy taste, I felt there were not enough hazelnuts.  So ever since, I have been changing the basic recipe to contain more and more hazelnuts.  Now on version 7.0 and 8.0, the total hovers between 48% and 50%, with the addition of chocolate as the second largest ingredient, then sugar, butter, vanilla bean and fleur de sel.

I am excited to report that it is yummy, really yummy!  I will make it available right after Labor Day along with our fall offerings.  In the meantime, the little video I recently posted on Instagram takes you through the steps.  And I should mention that the hazelnuts come from a small family farm in Oregon.