Quick Dessert Recipes Featuring Chocolate Spread, a Healthier Alternative to the Store Bought Stuff

Chocolate spread is beloved for a reason: bread spread, used as frosting on cakes, or simply eaten by the spoonful. Store bought versions are convenient and quick, but you can make chocolate spread right at home and whip up a batch of lip-smacking chocolate desserts. This way you can control the quality of ingredients and avoid the many additives, preservatives, and high amounts of refined sugars that the store bought stuff usually contains. It’s also economical to make your own chocolate spread because you can buy the ingredients in bulk. You’re basically enjoying a gourmet-quality product without the premium price tag. Then there’s the advantage of altering the taste and sweetness according to your preferences. 

Here’s how you can make a basic chocolate spread at home:

Ingredients:

• 240 gm hazelnuts 
• 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 30 gm cocoa powder
• 66.7 ml pure maple syrup 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp neutral oil

Instructions: 

• Toast the hazelnuts on a dry pan if you like and let them cool down. 
• Then add them to the food processor and powder them. 
• Once the hazelnuts reach a crumbly consistency, add vanilla extract, cocoa powder, salt, maple syrup, and neutral oil. 
• Blend to extract hazelnut paste and to get a fully blended chocolate spread. 
• You can loosen the spread with some dairy or non dairy milk if it’s too thick. 

Now here’s an interesting variation of the chocolate spread with white chocolate and pistachios. The result is thick, creamy, decadent, and simply delicious. 

Pistachio and White Chocolate Spread

Ingredients:

• 65 gm unsalted shelled pistachios 
• 115 gm coarsely chopped white chocolate 
• 45 ml cold water 

Instructions: 

• Finely chop the pistachios in a food processor until you get a paste. 
• Melt the chopped white chocolate in a heatproof bowl, and microwave in 30 second intervals. 
• Pour the white chocolate into the pistachio paste and blitz again to get a smooth nut butter consistency. 
• Transfer into a sterilized jar. Spread over toasts, or have with a slice of plain butter cake. 

Chocolate Almond Spread

Ingredients:

• 170 gm almonds
• 15 gm hazelnuts
• 42 gm milk chocolate chips
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp coconut oil 

Instructions: 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C and place the almonds and hazelnuts onto a baking tray in a single, even layer. 
• Roast in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. The nuts will change in color and take on a golden hue, and should be fragrant. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down completely. 
• Add the cooled nuts in a food processor and blend well until the nuts release their oils. The mixture should look like a paste. 
• Scrape the sides of the food processor, then add milk chocolate chips, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. 
• The heat of the food processor’s blade should be enough to melt the chocolate chips, so you don’t have to melt them separately. 
• Transfer the almond chocolate spread into a sterilized jar and store. 

Spiced Chocolate Spread

Ingredients: 

• 100 ml water
• 100 ml double cream
• 60 g dark muscovado sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 pinches mixed spice
• 200 g chopped dark chocolate 
• 15 ml neutral oil

Instructions: 

• Place cream, water, sugar, salt, and mixed spice mix in a saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil. 
• Bring down the temperature from high to low, and let the liquid simmer for about 2 minutes. 
• Switch off the heat, then add chopped dark chocolate and let it melt into the warm liquid. Mix well to incorporate. 
• After this, let the chocolate spread cool down and thicken at room temperature or put it in the fridge to expedite the process. 
• Pour the oil once the spread is cool and keep whisking to emulsify and incorporate some air into the spread. 
• Transfer into a clean, airtight jar and store in the fridge. The spread should be good enough to consume for a month.