Frozen Nutella Mousse {World Nutella Day}

Every February 5th, rain or shine, is World Nutella Day! Or at least it has been the last few years. :) I like to make up a new Nutella recipe each year to celebrate. {Do you love Nutella? Or do you prefer another version or make it yourself?} Last year I made Nutella Oatmeal Bars.

This year's recipe is oh so simple. I just adapted my Frozen Chocolate Mousse recipe.

Frozen Nutella Mousse

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup Nutella {or other chocolate-hazelnut spread}
Milk to thin Nutella

Measure out Nutella into small bowl. Add a little milk and stir until well-mixed and smooth. Continue stirring in small amounts of milk until consistency is similar to chocolate syrup. Set aside.

Whip heavy whipping cream in mixing bowl until fairly stiff {not too long or you'll have butter!}. Pour in Nutella sauce, about a third at a time, and gently fold into whipped cream until evenly mixed. Mound into cupcake cups or other serving dishes, cover, and place in freezer. Freeze at least 4 hours, until firm. Makes 6-8 small servings. Recipe can be doubled.

Thaw at room temp about 10 minutes before eating. Enjoy!

I decided to use a handy dandy Pampered Chef gizmo and pipe my mousse into the cups this time. But I usually mound it - it's simple elegance either way!

Stop by nutelladay.com to see what all the fuss is about! World Nutella Day is hosted each year by Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso. They declare February 5th “World Nutella Day 2014″ – a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella.

And if you need more Nutella ideas, you can try my other recipes:

~ Nutella Macadamia Cake

~ Nutella Biscotti
~ Nutella Popcorn
~ Mini Nutella Cheesecakes
~ Nutella S'Mores Cake
~ Nutella Bites

What's your favorite Nutella recipe? Or do you just eat it with a spoon {I prefer to use pretzels}? 

Have a blessed day, friends!

World Nutella Day ~ Nutella Oatmeal Bars

Today is World Nutella Day! Woo Hoo!! As if we needed an excuse to eat a little extra Nutella. :) {If you haven't had Nutella - why not? You can even make your own version if you don't like the ingredients list!}

World Nutella Day was started by Ms Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso. It has grown over the years and now you can check out all the fun and over 700 Nutella recipes at World Nutella Day! 

In honor of World Nutella Day each year, I like to share a new recipe with you. Last year was Nutella Macadamia Cake. This year? These easy, super delish bars.

Nutella Oatmeal Bars

1 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
13 oz. jar of Nutella {or other Chocolate-Hazelnut spread}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1/2 cup of flour mixture. Press remaining flour mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9x9x2 inch baking pan.

Set aside 2-3 tablespoons of Nutella. Carefully spread the rest of the Nutella over the top.* Sprinkle reserved flour mixture over top of Nutella.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Mix reserved Nutella with water until it reaches a drizzle consistency. Put into a squeeze bottle or just use a spoon and drizzle over the top of the bars. Let set. Cut into bars.

*If you use all the Nutella it makes a really thick layer - not that it's a problem or anything - but you can choose to use less. :) The Nutella is hard to spread around - you may want to heat it to make it easier or thin it with a little milk first. 

 

 

Yum. How are you celebrating World Nutella Day? Have you made a recipe with Nutella? Have you made your own version of Nutella {I really want to try making some}?

This post linked to:

 ~ Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

 ~ Chic & Crafty Party at The Frugal Girls 

 ~ I'm Lovin' It at TidyMom 

And if you need more Nutella ideas, you can try my other recipes:

~ Nutella Biscotti
~ Nutella Popcorn
~ Mini Nutella Cheesecakes
~ Nutella S'Mores Cake
~ Nutella Bites

Have a blessed, Nutella-filled day friends! :)

World Nutella Day ~ Nutella Macadamia Cake

No football game can stop me from enjoying Nutella - LOL!  :)  It's World Nutella Day today people!!  Every year on February 5th, we celebrate with Nutella.  The event is co-hosted by Ms Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso.

So, how about a little cake?

Yes, I broke out the brain cells and came up with a Nutella cake recipe for today!  :)  I started with 3 layers of yellow cake and topped each of 2 layers with Nutella and chopped macadamia nuts.

And I'll show you the cake before frosting it - because hubs called it a "Big Mac" which made me laugh.  Does it look like a giant hamburger to you?

For the frosting, I combined whipping cream, a little powdered sugar, and good ol' Nutella.  It all turned out light and yummy!

Nutella Macadamia Cake

1 recipe for 2-layer yellow cake (cake mix or from scratch)
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons Nutella, divided
1/2 cup salted macadamia nuts, finely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
1+ teaspoons milk

Prepare yellow cake according to directions, but bake in 3 layers rather than 2.  Cool cake completely on wire racks.

Set aside 2 tablespoons of chopped macadamia nuts.  Turn 1st layer of cake upside down on plate.  Spread 1/2 cup Nutella over top.  Sprinkle 1/2 the remaining macadamia nuts on top of Nutella.  Place 2nd layer upside down on top.  Spread 1/2 cup of Nutella on top and sprinkle remaining macadamia nuts on top.  Place 3rd cake layer upside down on top of stack.

Whip heavy whipping cream, but stop before reaching soft peaks.  Add powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons Nutella and continue whipping (but don't over beat like I did).  Frost sides and top of cake with whipped cream mixture.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of macadamia nuts on top of cake.

Mix remaining 2 tablespoons Nutella with 1 teaspoon of milk.  Add small amounts of milk as needed until mixture is ready to drizzle.  Drizzle over top of nuts.  Store cake covered in refrigerator.  Slice & eat and then repeat!  :)

Of course, if you don't feel up to baking a cake, you can always just break out a spoon and enjoy Nutella right out of the jar!  :)

And if you need other Nutella ideas, you can try my other recipes:
~ Nutella Biscotti
~ Nutella Popcorn
~ Mini Nutella Cheesecakes
~ Nutella S'Mores Cake
~ Nutella Bites

Or check out all the Nutella recipes (including making your own version of chocolate-hazelnut spread) at NutellaDay.com!

Yay for World Nutella Day!!  How are you celebrating?  Um, even if you missed it today - I give you permission to celebrate with Nutella any day you want!  :)

Have a blessed day friends!

World Nutella Day ~ Nutella Biscotti

Not only is it Chocolate Friday today (though it's usually Dessert Friday the first Friday of the month), but it's World Nutella Day!!  What a fun celebration!

World Nutella Day is hosted by Sara from Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso.  This is actually the 4th one!  You really should stop over at the World Nutella Day site - there are so many great recipes there! 

 

Have you had Nutella before?  It's fantastic!  It is very dangerous though - hard not to keep eating it and it's definitely not low fat!  Or maybe you've tried another brand of chocolate hazelnut spread?  It's all good.

You might remember that I've participated in the Nutella Challenge at bell' alimento the past few months so I have been enjoying creating new Nutella recipes.

 

I created another one for you today!  It still scares me every time I try to do a recipe myself, but so far they have turned out well!  I really enjoy biscotti so I thought I should give Nutella biscotti a try.  At the same time, I wanted to test out using some healthier ingredients in my baking.  I'm happy with the result (and so is hubs)!

 

When you make biscotti, you separate it into two - I pressed almond slices into one half and sprinkled sparkle sugar onto the other half.

 

  

I decided this half needed to be drizzled with chocolate!

Nutella Biscotti

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

3 eggs

1 cup sugar (I used organic evaporated cane juice)

1/2 cup Nutella

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon almond extract

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

2 tablespoons sparkle sugar (optional)

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment (or grease).

2.  In large bowl, beat together oil, eggs, sugar, Nutella, and extracts until well blended.  In a separate bowl, combine the flours and baking powder; stir into egg mixture to form heavy dough.  Divide dough in half.  On prepared sheet(s), form each piece into a roll about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide.  Press on sliced almonds or sprinkle sparkle sugar if desired.  (I chilled the dough for about 20 minutes at this point just to make sure it was firm enough.)

3.  Bake for 25-30 minutes in preheated oven.  Remove from baking sheet to cool on wire rack.  When cool enough to handle, slice each roll diagonally into 1/2 inch slices.  Place the slices cut side up on cookie sheet(s) without parchment.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Turn slices over and bake for additional 5 minutes.  Cool on wire rack. 

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After that you can drizzle on some melted chocolate if you like.  I also think these would be great with chocolate chips or vanilla chips mixed into the dough.  What do you think?  After the fact, I did see that there are a few Nutella biscotti recipes on www.nutelladay.com so you may want to check those out for other variations.

You can always celebrate World Nutella Day by making any of the other Nutella recipes I've made:

Mini Nutella Cheesecakes

 

Nutella Popcorn

  

Nutella Bites

  

Nutella S'mores Cake

 

And you thought eating Nutella from the jar with a spoon was the only way to have it!  Party with Nutella today!  Stop over at World Nutella Day for lots of creative Nutella recipes and check out bell' alimento for Nutella challenge recipes!  I'm also linking this up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing beauty and Bedlam!

Let's keep celebrating by linking up some yumminess right here today!  If you have Nutella recipes, feel free to link them up, but you can also link up dessert recipes today, and of course any chocolate posts!  Come on - bring those links - the more the merrier!

Have a Nutellerrific day friends!  :)

The Nutella Challenge: Nutella S'mores Cake

Welcome to Chocolate Friday!  Another week almost done; another chocolate reward deserved - LOL!

I actually got a head start on my monthly Nutella Challenge post (have you checked out all the fabulous Nutella recipes linked up at bell' alimento?)  - so unlike me except for the fact that I just baked it and still have to take pics for this post and it's after 10pm!  I made the challenge so easy on myself this time - it's almost cheating.  I already have a S'mores Cake recipe that I like and my family prefers Nutella on our s'mores instead of plain chocolate so...I thought maybe I could just substitute Nutella for the hot fudge topping in the recipe.  Excellent decision if I do say so myself!

Nutella S'mores Cake

(adapted from a Betty Crocker recipe)

1 package yellow cake mix

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 jar (13 oz.) Nutella

1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease bottom only of 13x9 in. pan with shortening or cooking spray.

2.  In large bowl, beat cake mix, cracker crumbs, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds.  Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.  Pour into pan.

3.  Reserve 1/4 cup Nutella.  Drop remaining Nutella by tablespoonfuls randomly in 12-14 mounds onto batter in pan.  Use knife to swirl Nutella throughout batter.

4.  Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Run knife around side of pan to loosen cake.  Cool 15 minutes.

5.  Spoon teaspoonfuls of marshmallow creme onto warm cake; carefully spread with knife dipped in hot water.  Drop small dollops of reserved Nutella randomly over marshmallow creme.  Swirl Nutella through marshmallow creme with knife for marbled design.  Cool 2 hours.  Store uncovered at room temp.  (Once cut, store cake in pan, uncovered, with plastic wrap pressed against cut sides.)  When cutting cake, dip knife or server in hot water before cutting each piece to keep frosting from sticking.

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How does that sound?  Now one thing that I realized (after I made the cake of course!) is that the Nutella acts much different in the cake than hot fudge topping.  Hot fudge topping spreads out and sinks to the bottom.  Nutella remains in clumps unless you spread it out and it does not sink to the bottom.  My solution is to swirl the Nutella through the batter so you have even Nutella flavor throughout.  My cake had giant clumps of Nutella that surprised me in the middle of my piece of cake (not that I'm complaining about that - LOL).

OK - time for your chocolate posts!  I know you've got chocolate somewhere on those blogs - find it and link it up!  If you don't have a blog, you can always share some chocolate wonderfulness in the comments.  It doesn't matter if you call it chocolate, chocolat, cioccolato, Schokolade, or chocolade - we just want you to share it!  :) 

Have a fantastic Friday!

I'm linking this up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam (lots of yummy recipes there) and to Do It Yourself Day at A Soft Place to Land (lots of fun projects to check out)!

The Nutella Challenge: Nutella Bites

Yay - it's Chocolate Friday!! First, I have to thank all my awesome readers and friends for so much great input and support this week! I loved all the feedback on Monday about what age to leave a child home alone and then your sweet comments and thoughts on yesterday's post. You all are the BEST! And you deserve some yummy chocolate, so here it is!

As you know, I'm a part of the Nutella Challenge at bell'alimento and that means I need to come up with a Nutella recipe once a month for a few months. Very stressful for me - the recipe Follower! I managed to come up with Mini Nutella Cheesecakes and Nutella Popcorn so far. I actually squeaked out another successful Nutella creation! Whew!

And since I created the recipe all by myself, I think this definitely qualifies for Do It Yourself Day over at A Soft Place To Land! Go link up your projects! And I'm linking it to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam where you can find lots of yummy recipes!

I present you with Nutella Bites! Er, I may have sampled several a few to make sure that they were good enough for you. :)

No, I don't mean bites from the jar, but I must say, when you put a bunch of Nutella in a cute little measuring cup like this - it makes you want to just grab a spoon and eat it!

Choose your favorite coating for the Nutella Bites. I used crushed pretzels and crumbled toasted almond slices. The crushed pretzels are my fave because of the salty/sweet combo, but after more sampling, it should be noted that the pretzel bits can get a little stale after a couple of days (they probably won't last that long though). You could try other coatings - maybe coconut or hazelnuts?

These are the almond-coated bites.

And here are the pretzel-coated bites.

Yum.

Nutella Bites

1/2  cup Nutella

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup coarsely crushed pretzels (if eating in less than 2 days) or other coating of choice

Mix first 4 ingredients together until well-mixed. Shape into 1-inch size balls. Dip in crushed pretzels or coating of choice until well-coated. Can shape into balls first or chill first. Hard to shape when soft, but coat easily. Easy to shape after chilled, but harder to coat. Chill to firm and store in refrigerator. Best eaten after sitting at room temp for a few minutes to soften slightly. Makes 24 balls...or it would if you didn't sample too much. :) The recipe can be easily doubled.

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What do you think of that? I hope you get to try them! Keep me posted on great coatings you use! You can find more great Nutella recipes at bell' alimento!

If you like Nutella, try my other Nutella recipes:

 ~ Nutella Biscotti
 ~ Nutella Popcorn
 ~ Mini Nutella Cheesecakes
 ~ Nutella Macadamia Cake
 ~ Nutella S'Mores Cake

Have a wonderful chocolate-filled day!

I'm linking this up to the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap!

The Nutella Challenge: Nutella Popcorn

Yay - it's Chocolate Friday!! Welcome! Grab something chocolatey to celebrate!

Today I'm sharing with you my creation for the second month of The Nutella Challenge at bell' alimento! I've said before that creating a recipe scares me so this is a true challenge for me! I think I came up with something that you'll enjoy - simple and yummy - Nutella Popcorn.

First, pop up some popcorn and lightly salt.

Then, carefully melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave and mix in the Nutella. Remember to take pictures *before* you transfer contents from a bowl! :)

Coat the popcorn with the melted mixture. Honestly, it worked best to mix it with my hands. Then spread it all out on top of wax paper to set up - hopefully in a cool place.

The coating on the popcorn will still be slightly soft, but if you refrigerate a bit, it will help. Or you could just eat it right away and not worry about it.

Nutella Popcorn

8 cups popped popcorn
1 bag (2 cups) white chocolate chips
1/3 cup Nutella

Melt white chocolate chips according to package instructions - either on stove or in microwave. After they are melted and smooth, stir in Nutella and mix thoroughly. Pour onto popped popcorn and mix until all pieces are well coated. Spread onto wax paper in a cool place to set up. Refrigerate if needed to harden coating a little more. Eat!

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That's my creation for this time! 100% of people surveyed liked this popcorn - that means that hubby, son, and I all liked it! :) Be sure to check out Paula's Nutella Challenge creation at bell' alimento and see all the other yummy Nutella recipes linked up there.


If you like Nutella, try my other Nutella recipes:

 ~ Nutella Biscotti
 ~ Mini Nutella Cheesecakes
 ~ Nutella Macadamia Cake
 ~ Nutella S'Mores Cake
 ~ Nutella Bites


P.S. I'm sharing this recipe for Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam! Go there for more yummy recipe ideas!

The Nutella Challenge - Mini Nutella Cheesecakes

Happy Chocolate Friday everybody!! We survived another week! I hope you had a wonderful week and I hope you've got a jar of Nutella to enjoy 'cause that's what I'm talking about today!

A while back I joined the Nutella Challenge hosted by Paula of bell' alimento. I love Nutella so how hard could it be to come up with a few recipes? Well, I am not really a food blogger and have never created a recipe! I am a recipe follower, not a recipe creator. And look at some of the entries like Nutella Gelato or Nutella Crostata and tell me you wouldn't be intimidated! But, for the sake of Nutella and Chocolate Friday readers everywhere - I did come up with something! :)

Now, the main Nutella recipe that I eat is this:

But I figured I should come up with something a little more complicated than that!

I had a mini cheesecake recipe that I decided to tweak and make into mini Nutella cheesecakes. I'm not used to taking pics of the whole process, but thought I would attempt it this time.

I wanted to create a new crust, so I got some Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Cookies - Chocolate Hazelnut flavor. Take 12 cookies and crush them in a bowl. Then try not to eat the leftover cookies in one sitting.

Then mix in some melted butter. Not 4 tablespoons like I did - that was too much. Try 2-3 tablespoons instead.

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and fill evenly with crust mixture - about 2 teaspoons each. Then press down and flatten.

Mix up cheesecake batter and fill paper cups about 3/4 full or so. Put about 4 tablespoons of Nutella into remaining cheesecake batter and stir. Distribute evenly between cups - either covering the top completely or using a knife to marble the batter. I tried different methods to see if it mattered for presentation or flavor.

Bake as directed and let cool. Chill. Carefully peel off paper cups and eat!

The two different types don't have a big flavor difference and I think the marbled one is prettier. The cheesecakes have a nice subtle Nutella flavor, but I think some Nutella drizzle (Nutella thinned with a little milk) on the plate helps out. The crust is good, but slightly chewy - not sure if that's because I used too much butter. However, hubby gave the crust 2 thumbs up. You could always try the original crust which is just dropping a Nilla Wafer into the bottom of each paper cup.

Mini Nutella Cheesecakes

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 tablespoons Nutella
12 Chocolate Hazelnut Pirouette cookies, crushed and mixed with 2-3 tablespoons melted butter
-or - 12 Nilla Wafers

Line muffin pans with cupcake papers. Put Nilla Wafers or Crushed cookie mixture into bottoms of cups. If using cookie mixture, press flat.

On medium speed, blend cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs and mix well. Pour batter over crust, filling cups about 3/4 full. Stir Nutella into remaining cheesecake batter. Distribute Nutella batter evenly between cups and use a knife to marble mixture.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Remove, cool, and chill. Serves 12.

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There you have it - my first Nutella Challenge (stop over there for yummy Nutella recipes)! I survived! I hope you enjoy the recipe.

If you like Nutella, try my other Nutella recipes:

 ~ Nutella Biscotti
 ~ Nutella Popcorn
 ~ Nutella Macadamia Cake
 ~ Nutella S'Mores Cake
 ~ Nutella Bites

I'm linking this post up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Stop over there for great food tips and lots of yummy recipes!

Have a lovely chocolate-filled day my friends!