«With the same calories per hectogram (about 600), the hazelnut and cocoa cream homemade has the advantage of having one a high percentage of hazelnuts (62%) compared to industrial ones, which usually have from 13 to 45% at most, ”he explains Valentina Viti, nutritionist.
"Furthermore, there are no sunflower or palm oils and the fat part is healthy because it comes from extra virgin olive oil which, together with hazelnuts, gives monounsaturated (especially oleic) and polyunsaturated (linoleic) fatty acids. In the end, it does not have high doses of refined sugar, thus limiting the impact of this cream on blood sugar ».
What do you need
- 100 g of shelled hazelnuts
- 40 g of extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g of bitter cocoa
- 10 g of honey
The procedure
Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for a few minutes with the grill option, or in a non-stick pan, stirring constantly so that they do not burn.
In a blender, start at pass the hazelnuts with the bitter cocoa, intermittently and stirring occasionally with a wooden scoop. Gradually add the oil and continue to whisk and mix, at least for 10 minutes or until you have obtained an oily and smooth consistency.
Finally add the honey, mix and put the cream in a tightly closed glass jar. You can keep it like this at room temperature for 2 / 3 weeks.
"Doc" variants
↘ For a sugar-free and therefore less calorie version (570 per 100 g), you can replace the honey with a pinch of stevia powder (the tip of a teaspoon is enough).
↘ You can flavor your hazelnut and cocoa cream by adding a few pinches of cinnamon, star anise seeds or cardamom berries.
↘ If you want a softer cream, you can replace a part of oil with vegetable milk, for example coconut, almond or rice. In this case, however, it must be kept in the refrigerator.
↘ You can use this cream as one too sort of vegetable butter: it is for example a perfect ingredient for sweet doughs for biscuits, shortbreads or cakes and for flavoring yogurt and smoothies.
