Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

You all know that white-labelled jar with the red lettering: the one your parents tried to hide from you by putting it on the highest shelf in the tallest cupboard; the one you used to dig into with a spoon when you thought no one was looking- well, due to a request from our family we've created the vegan version of its nutty, chocolatey contents so you can once more indulge. We tried making it a couple of times, and decided on this version as the simplest, most effective recipe. If you have a food processor or high speed blender suitable for making nut butters, then you'll soon have your very own little pot of chocolate nut heaven...

400g shelled hazelnuts
200g raw sugar (such as Pakistani sukhar or Brazilian rapadura, but if you can't get those, ordinary soft brown sugar will do)
50g cacao powder (or cocoa if you can't get the raw cacao)
40g coconut oil

• Lightly toast the hazelnuts in a medium oven.
• Put into your food processor and get them down to a smooth butter.
• Add the other ingredients and blend again. Make sure the level of sweetness is to your liking; adjust if necessary.
• Keep in a lidded jar somewhere cool and dry.

This spread can also be used as a cake filling and frosting, in ice cream and as a general dessert topping- watch out for future posts explaining how!