Rocher Spread (Protein)

It started with yet another craving for chocolate hazelnut spread. I was thinking Nutella but, you know, the Nutella I grew up with. Not that sorry, trans fatty, overly sweet, where the hell are the hazelnuts and cacao spread that masquerades as Nutella these days.

Yes, I’m a little bitter about it. No, I don’t plan to get over it anytime soon

Anywho, I kind of veered off the Nutella path a bit and thought, I like a little crunch in my spread. Rocher. Yes.

So I made a Rocher spread instead. Of course, I had to add some protein and make it healthy. This spread has a lot less fat than your average spread, less carbs, and definitely more protein than your average Nutella spread. But it tastes amazing.

As I indicate in the recipe, you can use whatever suitable sweetener you prefer or fits your macros (if that’s important to you). A few recommended alternatives are provided with the recipe.

I specifically used rice protein powder for this recipe. Why? Rice protein already has a nutty sweetness to it that goes extremely well with the hazelnuts and cacao, and helps to create that lovely Rocher flavour. I would recommend against using whey or casein as they have a flavour that will compete with, rather than enhance, the chocolate and hazelnut combination.

This recipe is gluten-free and dairy (lactose) free and is suitable for anyone on a low FODMAP diet. That’s a lot of win right there.

Macros magically appear at the bottom of the recipe as always.

Enjoy!

Makes: 1 x 450 gram jar

Serving Size: 15 grams

Ingredients

• 150 grams hazelnuts
• 30 grams Natvia (or preferred sweetener or alternative*)
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 60 grams rice protein powder, unflavoured (or substitute chocolate or vanilla flavoured)
• 40 grams unsweetened cacao powder
• 200 millilitres unsweetened almond milk (e.g. homemade or Almond Breeze are great)
• 10 millilitres pure maple syrup
• *Use your preferred sweetener to taste to keep the macros on par with the recipe.
• Alternatively, use one of the following. They will all work well and provide a good flavour:
• - Coconut sugar or rapadura sugar
• - Maple syrup or mild honey
• - Date purée (this will make it less of a Rocher spread but will still be good)
• - White or brown sugar (not as good as the coconut sugar but of course, they work)

Directions

Dry roast the hazelnuts in a 180°C oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, until golden. Remove and allow to cool.

Place 120 grams of the hazelnuts into the bowl of a food processor. Reserve the remaining 30 grams to be added later.

Add the Natvia (or alternative) and sea salt to the food processor and process the nuts until it becomes a smooth paste.

Add the rice protein, cacao, almond milk and maple syrup to the hazelnut paste and process until smooth.

Finally, add the reserved hazelnuts and pulse only for a second or two in order to chop the nuts so as to have chopped hazelnuts throughout the spread.

Transfer the spread to a large jar of 450 grams capacity. Store in the refrigerator. The spread should last up to a week or so.

Notes

Per 15 gram serve:

157.4kJ / 37.6kCal, 2.7g Protein, 3.4g Fat (0.3g Saturated), 0.9g Carbohydrates (0.5g Sugars), 1.1g Dietary Fibre

Oh, who are we kidding? It’ll be lucky to last 24 hours.

Go ahead. Spread it on bread, crackers, whatever. Use it to fill chocolate shells to make Rocher cups!

Feeling too lazy tired and hungry to muck about in the kitchen? Grab a spoon. The jar awaits!

Yes, that would be my chicken claw delicate hand moving in to spread some on that crusty bread (that sadly, I’m not allowed to eat). But let my hand be proof positive that this spread won’t make you a fatty boombada overnight

Macronutrient Profile

I have included macros as per the recipe stated above. If you make substitutions, such as using extra hazelnuts, or all maple syrup or other sweeteners instead of the Natvia, this will affect the macros.