There are but a few things in the world that can help me in a moment of distress. Overemotional, sensitive and prone to panic attacks, I tend to have minor breakdowns every once in a while. It’s just one of  the many features and talents I’ve been blessed with. Not a big deal at all. I am aware that it’s not exactly a popular feature of my otherwise loveable personality, which is why I’m extremely grateful to those that witness these episodes and cope with them.

One person that has completely mastered the emergency protocol is my husband. He knows exactly what I need and always makes sure I get it. After the mandatory hug and pep talk, he throws in a couple of jokes that make me laugh from the heart. He then lies that everything is going to just fine and brings me chocolate or a glass of wine accompanied by a sincere smile on his face. That’s the drill we go through every single time, the healing process that last only 15 minutes, but feels like a major catharsis. I don’t know what I would do without him. He’s like my personal Dr. Phil.

Today was a really crappy day. I came home from work feeling blank and completely numb. Dr. Phil is away on business, which meat only one thing; skipping the hugs and pep talk and heading straight for the chocolate. I walked over to the fridge and took out a half empty jar of the magical Chocolate almond spread I made the other day. I screwed the lid off desperately, turning around swiftly to grab a spoon from the opposite drawer. The next thing I remember was sitting on the couch with my feet up, licking the spoon and trying to scrape out all the last bits of this delectable chocolate medicine. I was saved by the chocolate once again.

I saw the recipe for this incredible Chocolate spread a while back at Da mi je nešto slatko, one of my favorite Croatian food blogs. It was love at first sight and I knew I had to make soon. I tweaked the recipe slightly by substituting heavy cream with almond milk. This makes the spread vegan and also cuts down on fat and calories. You only need three ingredients to make this chocolate goodness and you can play around and substitute them with different options to make it your own. Try adding different nuts, or white chocolate. You can even flavor your spread with orange zest or spices and a splash of booze. Once you’ve created your own variation, take the jar and a spoon and prepare to be amazed.

Recept na hrvatskom

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Chocolate Almond Spread

Makes about 400g
Prep time: 15min
Difficulty: Basic

Category: Breakfast, Mousses, creams & ice creams

This is a vegan and gluten-free version of a popular chocolate spread. You only need three ingredients to make it and the best thing is that you can substitute everything with anything. Use hazelnuts or macadamia nuts instead of almonds, milk or white chocolate instead of dark chocolate, or heavy cream, soy milk or cow’s milk instead of almond milk. Of course, if you use cream or cow’s milk, the spread will not be vegan anymore. You could also flavor the spread with vanilla, orange zest or cinnamon and add a splash of your favorite booze. Smear it on your croissant or bread, use it as a filling for cookies, crepes or doughnuts, or just eat it right out of the jar. The recipe was adapted from Da mi je nešto slatko.

Ingredients

200g almonds, roasted
150g dark chocolate (60% cacao solids), melted
60-100ml almond milk

Directions

Add almonds to the bowl of a food processor. Process until nuts are finely ground. The ground almonds will start to collect around the edges of the bowl, so stop and scrape down the sides every few minutes, just to keep everything blending evenly. As the oils are released from the almonds, they’ll start to stick together and form a large mass that moves around the bowl. Continue processing until you get a relatively almond butter. This will take approximately 5-10 minutes, depending on the amount of almonds you use and the strength of your food processor. Be patient.
Pour melted chocolate over almond butter and pulse until combined. The spread will be quite thick at this point, so add almond milk one spoon at the time until you achieve a creamy spreadable consistency. Bear in mind that the spread will set in the refrigerator, so it's a good idea to make it just a bit thinner than you'd like. That way you will be able to enjoy it right out of the fridge.
Pour the chocolate spread into a clean sterilized jar, screw the lid on and store in the refrigerator. Use within 3-4 days.

Author: Monika Topolko

 

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