Christmas Hot Chocolate with Hazelnuts

Ingredients for 4-6 portions:

• hazelnut cream, allow one teaspoon and a half (or more) per portion, because it’s Christmas
• 500 ml of full fat milk
• 180 g of dark chocolate 70 %, broken or chopped into smaller pieces
• 12-15 g of corn starch
• 15 g of cocoa powder
• 30 g of sugar (add more if you prefer)
• seeds scraped from a half (or more) of a vanilla pod, instead you can use some good quality vanilla extract
• grated skin of half an orange (optional)
• 200-250 ml of whipped cream
• a few toasted and chopped hazelnuts to garnish

Coat little cups (I like to use tea cups) with the hazelnut spread, using the back of a teaspoon, into which you will pour the hot chocolate.

Mix thoroughly the corn starch with about 50 ml of milk in a separate cup.

Pour the remaining  milk into a small heavy based pan. Add sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla seeds, orange zest (if using) and the chocolate pieces.

On a medium to low heat, stirring gently the whole while, bring the mixture to the boil. Make sure that all ingredients are well combined.

Lower the heat, give a good stir to the milk with the dissolved corn starch and pour the milk into the pan with the chocolate liquid.

Cook everything stirring gently until the first bubbles appear and the hot chocolate thickens.

Pour everything into the prepared cups, decorate with the whipped cream and hazelnuts.

Serve immediately.