Making Not-tella with Hazelnut Flour and a Recipe for Vegan Nutella Swirl Ice Cream!

Behold: Hazelnut flour!
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Along with a giant honking bag of red quinoa, the nice people at IFS Bulk also gave me 48 ounces of hazelnut flour to play around with! Prior to this, it didn’t even cross my mind that hazelnuts might come pre-ground, flour style, similar to almonds, cashews, and the like. But they do! And of course I used the flour to make my absolute favorite: vegan nutella!

My precious!
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So far the only recipe that’s worked for me is the Not-tella from Veganomicon – which, you might recall, I rocked to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs a few VeganMoFos back. Anyhow, it’s the only version I’ve tried that actually results in a readily spreadable, creamy nut butter. And while it can be a little tough on ye ole food processor, it’s 1000% worth it.

Still, I wondered if maybe swapping out the whole hazelnuts for hazelnut flour might make the process a wee bit easier? After all, it’s the whole filberts that really make my food process jump and dance and just generally send me into a panicky tailspin. Once they’re processed, things go much more smoothly from there.

And you know what? Hazelnut flour FTW!

Ooey, gooey, and spreadable at room temp.
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I made a couple of batches of Not-tella – one for ice cream, one for licking from the spoon – and each time the process was pain-free. I didn’t even have to take a break to let the motor rest. From now on it’s nutella with hazelnut flour for this girl.

I took a snapshot of the Not-tella-in-progress as I went through each step, so you can see just what I mean. (Apologies in advance for the poor lighting and ugly yellow countertop. My kitchen is the worst.)

Hazelnut flour, ready to go!
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Step 1: Process until an oily, marzipan-like paste forms. Check!
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Next, add the extracts, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder…
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…and blend until crumbly!
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Toss in the powdered soy milk and four tablespoons of hazelnut oil…
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…and pulse and scrape and pulse and scrape until fudge-like in consistency.
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Add extra sugar to taste and additional oil as needed, one tablespoon at a time…
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…until your own person vegan nutella nirvana is achieved!
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Let’s have another look at that, shall we?

That’s the stuff!

While vegan nutella is gangbusters on ice cream sundaes, I decided to try it in ice cream – Vegan Nutella Swirl Ice Cream, to be exact. It’s about as awesome as it sounds, folks. I used a vanilla ice cream base so as not to distract from the swirly nutella bits, and the combination of flavors is heavenly.

In light of how great nutella goes with strawberries, I bet a strawberry base would take things to the next level. If there even is a next level. (Damn! Wish I’d thought of this sooner. Next time, muahahaha.)

Not-tella doesn’t freeze quite how I expected. After a few hours in the freezer, it appears almost dried out; closer to frozen melted chocolate than chilled chocolate fudge. But once you take it out of the freezer, it softens up rather quickly. For thick chunks of nutella, stir it in just the tiniest amount; for a more diffuse flavor, mix it a little more. But don’t go overboard, lest you lose the swirl effect!

Sadly, the Not-tella recipe from Veganomicon does not appear to be available online. However, trust me when I say that it alone is worth the purchase price of the book. If not, there’s an array of other vegan nutella recipes available online. Keep experimenting until you find one you like. Learn from my mistakes, though – the best recipes seem to be those that add the ingredients in stages, rather than just dumping everything into the food processor at once, crossing your fingers, and hitting pulse.

Vegan Nutella Swirl Ice Cream

(Makes about a quart of ice cream.)

Ingredients

2 cups soy creamer, plain or vanilla
1 cup soy milk, plain or vanilla, divided
2 heaping tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Between 1 and 1 1/2 cups vegan Nutella (about one batch of Not-tella from Veganomicon)

Directions

1. In a small mug, combine 1/4 cup of the soy milk with the arrowroot powder. Whisk well and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the soy creamer, remaining soy milk, and sugar. Heat on medium-high, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat and add the arrowroot slurry and vanilla extract immediately, whisking well. This should cause the milk to thicken noticeably.

3. Cover and transfer to a fridge to chill for six to eight hours or, better yet, overnight.

4. About an hour before you’re ready to make the ice cream, set your nutella on the counter and allow it to warm to room temp.

5. To make the ice cream, process the batter according to your ice cream machine’s directions. You can either add the nutella to the ice cream machine as it’s in the final minute of processing, or manually stir in the nutella as you scoop or dispense the ice cream from the machine. I prefer the latter technique, since it offers more control over the amount/consistency of nutella.

6. Enjoy immediately as soft serve or transfer to the freezer for a firmer dessert.

Thanks again to IFS Bulk for making this possible. My sweet tooth is forever grateful!