The all healthy, natural “Ferrero Rocher”

One of my all-time favourite flavour combinations is dark chocolate and hazelnut. It really is irresistible, hence why I only rarely buy a pot of Nutella (picture me stealthily making my way into the kitchen in the dead of night and ladling spoonfuls of the stuff into my mouth) and only ever buy Ferrero Rocher as a gift for someone.  

Given this passion for chocolate and hazelnut I am not sure why it has taken me so long to come up with the idea of creating a healthy, guilt-free version. Moreover, this recipe is just SO simple that you’ll be making it regularly.

Ingredients                     

  • Pitted dates, soaked overnight and then puréed
  • Hazelnuts
  • Cacao powder
  • Very dark raw chocolate – I use the Real Food Source chocolate drops

Step 1

Toast the hazelnuts in the oven until lightly golden. If the skins are on, you can rub them off with your hands once cool. Don’t worry about removing all the skin.

Step 2

Melt the chocolate drops in a heatproof bowl over a simmering saucepan of water.

Step 3

Reserve some of the whole hazelnuts for decorating your chocolates. Whizz the remaining hazelnuts up in a powerful blender in short bursts. You want to end up with a coarsely ground hazelnut powder.

Step 4

In a large bowl, mix together date purée, a tablespoon or 2 of cacao powder and lots of ground hazelnuts, until you have a paste that you can shape into small balls with your hands.

Step 5

Make bite sized balls out of the mixture and then dip them into the melted chocolate, ensuring that they are entirely coated.

Step 6

Top each chocolate bite with a toasted whole hazelnut. Alternatively, you could shape the paste round a whole hazelnut for a surprise crunchy centre and then top each chocolate with a sprinkle of ground hazelnuts.