#Nutella: the sweetness of cocoa marries the delicious hazelnuts of Piedmont

Nutella is the hazelnut chocolate spread famous all over the world. But not everybody knows that the hazelnuts of the original recipe of this delicious cream come from Piedmont.

Nutella was created by Pietro Ferrero, owner of a bakery in Alba, in the province of Cuneo (Piedmont, Italy), an area well known for its production of hazelnuts.

Mr Ferrero decided to add this precious ingredient to his chocolate paste due to the scarcity of cocoa in the years of World War II. The result was “Pasta Gianduja”, a hazelnut chocolate bar, and its creamy version, the ancestor of Nutella, called “Supercrema”.

Supercrema became Nutella in 1964, and since then its success has never stopped growing.  

Today we even have a day on the calendar to have an extra spoonful of Nutella: the Nutella day is celebrated the 5th of February. 

Nutella has also been the protagonist of a stamp, which Poste Italiane, the Italian Post Service, issued in 2014 in occasion of the 50th anniversary of the famous chocolate spread. The commemorative stamp features a jar of Nutella on a golden background.

The most popular way to enjoy Nutella is on a slice of good bread, as it is shown in the label and in most of Nutella ads. But Nutella is also good on its own, eaten from the spoon, and in many other ways: on crepes, cakes, croissants, ice creams and fruits. 

Our suggested recipe for this week is all about Nutella: it’s a Nutella plum cake, great to enjoy for breakfast or for any moment of the day that needs to be sweeten up. 

Ingredients (for a 28x11 cm mould)

100 g butter

250 g self raising flour

25 g unsweetened cocoa powder

100 g Nutella

50 g honey

200 g sugar

5 eggs (at room temperature)

a pinch of salt

Method

With an electric whisk, mix the eggs with the honey, sugar, and a pinch of salt, until you get a frothy cream.

Sift the flour and the cocoa, and add them to the mixture. Mix the ingredients with a spoon.

Melt the butter in a little pot, then add the Nutella. Mix until you get a smooth cream without lumps.

Add the Nutella and butter cream to the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the mould, lined with baking paper.

Cook the plum cake in static oven at 180° for about 45-50 minutes (or in circulating oven at 160° for about 40-45 minutes).

Once the plum cake is ready, let it cool down, then turn it out from the mould. Your delicious Nutella plum cake is ready to enjoy.