"Nutella Pancakes" news and stories

Ah, the rich velvety taste of hazelnuts and chocolate! What started as a small Italian company, from the 1940s, has become a world sensation. Indeed, yesterday blogs around the world celebrated World Nutella Day. Based on Piedmontese Gianduja, a chocolate containing about 50 percent almond and hazelnut paste, Nutella was created by Pietro Ferrero in his small patisserie in Alba.

World Nutella Day falls just before Valentine's Day, just in time for people to purchase a bottle and concoct a delicious Nutella-based cake. In fact, World Nutella Day even has it's own website with recipes that range from breads, cakes, and ice creams to savory dishes, like pizza. It turns out that you can have a three course meal with nutella! Check out some of our favorite recipes below:

• Banana and Nutella Crepe
• Butternut Squash Ravioli with Nutella Sauce
• Creme au Nutella and Macarons - This gorgeously seductive dessert is certain to increase your taste for love this Valentine's Day.
  
• Super Simple Nutella Ice Cream
• Nutella Champagne Shooter - Okay, the title of this recipe is misleading. This is an exquisite cocktail made with chocolate and hazelnut liqueurs, and a sparkle of Champagne (no Nutella). It's more of a tribute to Nutella worthy of making the list.
• Nutella Espreso
• Coffee Macarons with Nutella Cream
• Nutella Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
• Creamy Nutella Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache and Toasted Hazelnuts
• Cinnamon Nutella Cake

There are also a whole bunch of delicious nutella-based treats in our Flickr pool. What are some of your favorites?

While the idea of Nutella filled crepes is very tempting and crepes are not too difficult to make, they do take a bit more effort than more the thicker, American-style pancakes. Pancake batter is so adaptable that just about any ingredient can be worked into it, so I decided to work the chocolate-hazelnut spread into a basic pancake recipe for breakfast. There is just enough Nutella in the batter to give it a good flavor without being overwhelming or making the pancakes too heavy.

And yes, that is chocolate syrup on top of the pancakes in the picture, but I actually ate mine with maple syrup - I just wanted to emphasize the fact that they have an underlying chocolate flavor. By all means, use chocolate syrup if you are so inclined, but spreading the pancakes with a thin layer of Nutella or tossing a handful of chocolate chips into the batter might produce an even more decadent result.

The recipe is after the jump.