As a child, I was what you could call a Nutella enthusiast. I put it on everything: toast, pancakes, waffles, our family’s weekly, Sunday morning crepes—usually with sliced strawberries and an extremely generous squirt of whip cream. Most notably, on a family trip to Paris, dubbed with the task of choosing a souvenir, while my sisters went the more traditional route of clothes and jewelry, I, always the self-proclaimed maverick of the family, went with a Nutella crepe. However, as I grew up, I realized that it was not exactly socially acceptable to be consuming such large quantities of Nutella. This, paired with the fact that I stopped eating dairy several years ago, pushed me and my long-time lover apart until our affair was nothing but a distant memory.
Now flash forward to a couple of months ago, when I saw an Instagram story shared by the daughter of Chez Panisse legend Alice Waters, Fanny Singer, featuring Magic Spread. Created by a Portland-based, artisanal chocolate pop-up called Cloudforest, Magic Spread is made from Ecuadorian cacao, Oregon hazelnuts, and sweetened with my personal MVP of quarantine: dates. My tastebuds immediately began to dance at the thought of the renaissance of my favorite chocolate-hazelnut duo. I proceeded to order myself several jars.
My first, highly-anticipated spoonful of Magic Spread exceeded even my wildest, Willy-Wonka-esque fantasies. Let me paint a picture for you. Close your eyes and imagine a deliriously chocolatey, delicately nutty spread so intoxicatingly delicious it is borderline addictive. Think of it as Nutella’s sexier, more sophisticated older sister. Magic Spread boasts the same dreamy taste, but without the stomach ache because of its use of dates as a sweetener as opposed to sugar. My first jar was gone in less than a week.
I beg, no I implore you, wait no longer to order yourself a jar, and act fast, because its increasing popularity has caused it to be continually sold out. (I learned this the hard way.) Lather Magic Spread across a freshly toasted slice of bread (or banana bread, as I have done here), dollop it onto your latest haul of sweet summer berries, drizzle it across your favorite ice cream or a stack of pancakes, or, let’s be honest, just grab a spoon wait for the *magic* to ensue.