Newtella - Chocolate Cream Made From Acorns

Have I mentioned it already? Due to various allergies in our household, we are dependent on using standard children’s culinary delights sparingly, and we are always looking for healthy alternatives. Nutella, as an industrial product with over 50% sugar content and about 30% fat, was never really on our table, and even alternative organic nut spreads fail due to the hazelnut allergy. One day, during my wild herb training, I came across a recipe for a homemade chocolate cream based on acorns. At that time, I found it interesting enough to keep it. Now the time has come - the large oak tree that bombards our garden with acorns in the fall gave enough reason to collect them.

The photo already shows it - visually, the cream can compete. The ‘spreading feel’ is not quite as ‘gliding’ as Nutella due to the lack of fat, but I think it’s good enough. In terms of taste, further testing is still to be done, the original recipe is not quite child-compatible yet…

So how does it work? You take ripe acorns, preferably those that are easy to peel later (depends on the variety, unfortunately you only notice later). These acorns are put in a large bowl of water on the windowsill and are regularly rinsed with fresh cold water (i.e., every 2-3 days) until they germinate properly. In my case, this takes about 3 weeks. Then peel them, the brown skin must also be removed. A sharp, sturdy small knife helps a lot here, as the acorn shells are partially cracked but still quite tough. I need over 2 hours for the necessary 500 g of peeled acorns. Now put the acorns in the oven - 15 minutes at 200°C. Is it enough? The original recipe does not specify. I also made acorn coffee, where the acorns were in the oven much longer, but then they also become more bitter. I don’t want that for the cream.

Then the acorns go into the pot, together with 1 liter of apple juice (I use naturally cloudy) and cook them until the juice is almost completely reduced. Then puree the acorns, a tedious job with a potato masher. The acorns are already overcooked but still noticeably more robust than, for example, potatoes. Now add another 500 ml of juice, I mix everything with an immersion blender. It does not go very well, so I pass it again through the fine disc of the ‘flotte Lotte’. Now reheat and stir in 250 g of 2:1 jam sugar and cook properly until the cream is firm. Finally, I add 4 good tablespoons of cocoa powder, stirred lump-free in a little water, to the cream. It could have been more, but unfortunately, my supply was exhausted. Now the cream goes into sterilized jars and rests for a day. It doesn’t taste particularly good when fresh and warm. In two jars, I also add cinnamon.

The result of all these efforts? As already described above, it has become a quite decent cream. It’s chocolaty, and the acorns make it sufficiently substantial. I’m still a little bothered by the rather intense apple (juice) taste. Although it’s quite unique in combination with cocoa, I would like to get rid of it for regular use. And then it would also be more acceptable for the children (so far, their enthusiasm has been limited…). Malt beer might also work as a cooking liquid, or just water? I still have a few acorns left, so let’s go on to new experiments!

selfmade nutella with acorns