Sesame and hazelnut chocolate praline spread

Ingredients

Praline spread

• 75g - sesame seeds
• 75g - blanched hazelnuts
• 120g - caster sugar
• scraped seeds of 1 vanilla pod
• 2 tbsp - sunflower oil
• 150g - milk chocolate (about 37% cocoa content), roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp - unsweetened cocoa powder

To serve (any or all of the following)

• hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• icing sugar, for dusting
• lightly whipped cream
• sliced banana

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan.
2. Spread the sesame seeds and hazelnuts on a parchment-lined baking tray and toast in the oven for 15 minutes, shaking the tray halfway through. Turn off the oven but leave the tray in there to keep warm.
3. When the seeds and nuts have been in the oven for about 5 minutes, start the caramel. Put the sugar into a small saucepan, along with 2 tablespoons of water, and place on a low heat. Stir to dissolve, then increase the heat to medium-high and bring to the boil. Simmer for 4–5 minutes – resisting the urge to stir from now on, but swirling the pan gently a few times – until it’s a honey-coloured caramel. Take off the heat and, using the parchment to lift them up, tip the seeds and nuts into the caramel. Stir to coat, replace the parchment on the tray, then scrape the praline on to the lined tray. Using a spatula, spread the praline out to form a thin layer. Set aside for 30 minutes, to harden.
4. Once hardened, use a rolling pin to bash the praline into rough pieces. Transfer to a food processor and blitz for 5–10 minutes (timings will vary depending on the power of the machine), stopping the machine a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the praline starts to form a rough paste. Add the vanilla seeds and oil and blitz until smooth and runny. Stop the machine but leave the mix in the bowl.
5. Place the chocolate in a small bowl and sit the bowl over a small pan of just-simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl and the water do not touch. Stir occasionally to evenly melt, then scrape it into the food processor with the praline paste. Add the cocoa powder and process for a couple of minutes. Once smooth and combined, transfer into a clean jar with a lid.
6. Smear about 1 tablespoon of the praline spread – or more, if you like – over one side of each crêpe. Fold it in half, to form a semicircle, and then in half again, to form a triangle, or just simply roll it up. Either eat as is, or sprinkle with chopped toasted hazelnuts, dust with icing sugar or add whipped cream or slices of banana, or all of the above.