These chocolates are made very simply, by mixing Nutella with milk chocolate. I rarely weigh the ingredients for this, and usually only make it when I uncover half a jar of open hazelnut spread in the back of the pantry. As Pete pointed out, the combination is better than either the milk chocolate or Nutella on its own!
I start by tempering a bowl of Belgian milk chocolate (Callebaut 823) and once it’s at the right temperature (86 – 88°F), I quickly stir in several heaped tablespoonfuls of Nutella. There needs to be more chocolate than spread to ensure that the bar sets well enough to cut – I probably use about twice as much chocolate to Nutella by weight.
The mix is then poured and scraped into a parchment-lined cake tin, and allowed to set in the fridge. Allow it a little time on the bench before you slice it. The slab might crack anyway but, in our house at least, there’s never a shortage of people to eat the broken bits.
The end result is a delicious sweet confectionary which tastes a little like Italian gianduja and a little like Ferraro Rochers. The whole neighbourhood loves these!
Addendum: If you’re not au fait with tempering, you could try making these by simply melting the milk chocolate gently in the microwave or over a water bath, and then letting it cool to lukewarm (about 31C/88F) before stirring in the Nutella. Pour it into the parchment lined tray as above and set it in the fridge. I tried this today and it worked quite well, but the chocolate is more likely to melt and bloom at room temperature than the tempered version, so it’s best to keep the finished pieces in the fridge.
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
These look so nummy!
Thanks Mazza! :D
ooooh, i love gianduja. whenever i have some i make ice cream, of the chocolate ice creams it’s my favorite.
i still haven’t worked up the nerve to try tempering. clear something up for me – payard says only couverture chocolate can be tempered, and that it’s labeled as such. i have yet to find said couverture chocolate in any store, but callebaut is available everywhere. is 823 related to cocoa mass, or couverture, or what? i’m so confused!!
Dana, don’t be put off by the word couverture, I’ve always understood it just to mean the % cocoa in the chocolate is more than 30%. I think what Payard is trying to say is you can’t temper compound chocolate or lower % cocoa blends.
Almost all “better” chocolate you can buy is couverture – Callebaut, Lindt, Green and Black, probably Ghiradelli (although we don’t get that here, so I don’t know for sure). If you’re at the supermarket, just look at the ingredients list on the chocolate – it should have a % cocoa listed on it. I’d avoid any that have vegetable fat added, because it’s probably compound chocolate. Very few chocolates say the word couverture on it, unless you’re buying from specialty food suppliers.
If you want to try this recipe, buy some Callebaut milk chocolate bars. The 823 is the code for the bulk milk chocolate from which the bars are made (811 is the code for the dark 54%).
My kids love Nutella, i will definitely give this a try.
I think I could manage making these! And, I just happen
to have a half full jar of nutella on hand!
Thanks for the idea, Celia. :)
RR, thanks for stopping by!
Heidi, that’s the perfect situation – when there’s half a jar of Nutella hanging around.. :)
*sigh*… tempering. These look like they would be a hit in this household. Gone in a flash I would think…Now if only I could temper.
Nutella you say!!! Who would have thought, it looks amazing – think I might make this & show off a bit at work. Thanks!
Have you tried making it with dark chocolate? I can’t bring myself to buy (or eat) milk chocolate….but I know my Sam would love this as he loves nutella and finds dark chocolate too strong. He needs to come and live in your house I think….he seems to love all your food!
Not allowed to make any more chocolate thingies till next month so don’t tempt me any more :)
PS How did you know I had a half used jar of nutella?
A half full jar of Nutella just lying around in the cabinet? That would never happen here.
But I wonder if you or any of your readers could help me with a scone question. The scones that are sold here all are very solid, heavy but once in a tea room in New York, I had a delicate, almost fluffy scone that was wonderful. It broke into pieces – the better to use more clotted cream and jam. Does anyone have a recipe for these light scones?
Anna, it doesn’t look that flash, but it tastes wonderful!
SG, I have indeed tried it with dark, and it’s just not as good. Don’t know why. It’s just like milk chocolate and almonds don’t work for me. Sam would love this. :)
Sorry Jo, I’ll be good.
Patricia, I do have a scone recipe, but it’s quite unconventional, will have to get it posted. I always thought the lightness of the scone was in the handling – having said that, I never seem to get it quite right!
oh dear god……. those look amazing. I LOVE Nutella, can (and do) eat it straight from the jar with a teaspoon!!
You have made my saliva work overtime!!! Wow, it looks delish!!!! Much love xxx
Nothing like looking at chocolate to get the mouth watering! My only dilemma is that now your post has created a chocolate craving and I have not a stitch of it the house….it is going to be a lonngggg night!
OMG Celia, so must try these. Just two ingredients too? :o
Nicole and Amanda, thank you! :)
Cindy, sorry about that… :)
Lorraine, yes just two ingredients – milk chocolate and Nutella. I’ve just edited the post to add details of today’s batch, which I tried to make without tempering the chocolate. It worked ok, but needs to be stored in the fridge, to stop it from softening and possibly blooming. The version with tempered chocolate is stable at room temperature.
Yum indeed. Have you tried to make Nutella? I tried the version from the Valrhona website but found it too solid and dark. I have trouble buying Nutella after a dentist told me off for giving it to the children – although what else is so good on crepes?!
Did you enjoy kangaroo? Strangely it was available in UK supermarkets about 10 years ago. I first tried it over there – but maybe it wasn’t legal in all Australian states then? Only SA I think.
The slab looks lovely – and my little one would adore it but milk chocolate is not for me and nor is Nutella. I have a childhood aversion to hazelnuts in or with chocolate after getting sick immediately after the first time I ate Nutella!
Wow this sounds really delicious! I can’t imgine how my family going to respond to this delicious recipe.
I’m not a chocolatier-and don’t have tempering equipment.
So I think I’m just going to slather the Nutella on top of the chocolate bar and eat it that way. It makes me feel decadent but happy- and I don’t have to worry about the blooming temperature that way either!
Anna, your dentist is hard! :) I’ve never tried making nutella, but I do think it needs to be milk chocolate rather than dark. And the kangaroo was great. When are you coming?
Sarah, understand completely about those childhood aversions – to this day I can’t look at mandarins…
Tes, thank you! I made some more yesterday…
Heidi, that is certainly the easiest option. :) It wouldn’t be easy tempering in your hot summer anyway…
Nice one Celia. I would love to make a spreadable homemade Nutella. Any decent ones seem to be hard (as Anna mentions above).
Tell me though, I wonder if I didn’t temper the chocolate would the fats in the Nutella help keep the chocolate stable?
Oooh, Gill, that’s clever – I hadn’t thought of that. The batch I made yesterday wasn’t tempered, and it was ok on the bench for a little while until we ate it? I did let the chocolate come down to 31C, but I didn’t seed it at all.
Thanks for letting me know about that Celia. The tempering beast will be conquered one day, but until then its nice to know I have other chocolatey options.
I’ve changed my mind, send chocolate now! No? I bet it’s all gone… the good things always are…
These looks very delicious!
I just discovered your blog a few days ago and I have really enjoyed reading it! I’m especially fond of the whole section you have on jam making, I’ve been wanting to make my own jam for a long time but I’ve been a bit scared. You’ve definitely inspired me! :o)
Corrie, thanks for the lovely comment! :) You might want to have a look at the photos on my friend Dan’s blog – she’s a novice jam maker as well, but she’s just made 40 jars of plum jam from a tree in her backyard! :)
http://tutusandladybeetles.com/2010/07/28/plum-in-love/
Celia, I am a nutella addict who NEVER ever buys it for obvious reasons (I don’t intend to run another marathon, and my lack of will power when there’s Nutella around would require me to run at least two)
I don’t know how to temper chocolate, in fact, I am quite afraid of it… but wow, what a delicious recipe!
Sally, I’m fortunate in that I’m not a nutella addict (although these are very nice), but my boys really adore these, so they hoover them up. There are some foods I find irresistible, and like you, I just can’t keep them in the house! :)