If there’s one thing I love more than chocolate, it’s chocolate paired with hazelnut. I’ve previously paired the two together to make truffles and mousse, but today I am bringing it to you in liquid form. I made this for the first time the other weekend. It was one of those typical cool winter weekends where it was cold, wet and windy outside and all you want to do is sit inside by the fire (well, electric heater – we don’t have a fire), drink hot chocolate and play cards. Which is exactly what we did.
I have a chai on here previously, and a hot chocolate – this drink howver marries the two the flavours together with the addition of roasted hazelnut milk, which makes everything taste amazing. This is inspired by a drink at one of my favourite cafes in Hobart, Pollen Tea Rooms. I’ve taken a slightly different approach by roasted my hazelnuts in the milk, added a hint of chilli (though if subtle spiciness isn’t your thing, simply omit the chilli here). While it does take a little longer to prepare, it’s a far healthier alternative to commercially made hot chocolate mix which usually has sugar as its first ingredient, followed by processed cocoa, milk powder and other artificial flavours and preservatives.
If you are in warmer climates at the moment, I imagine this would also work well chilled, something akin to an Iced Chocolate. I haven’t tested this myself though as its a little on the chilly side here and definitely more fit for warming chocolate drinks, but if you do try it chilled please let me know what you think :)
- 1 Tbsp Masala Chai tea blend
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 slices red chilli
- 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
- 1 cup Roasted Hazelnut Milk
- Add the chai mix and chilli to a saucepan or cast iron teapot and let steep at least 10 - 15 minutes. Add the reemaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat, and pour into two cups and enjoy immediately,
Yum! Hazelnuts and chocolate is certainly a combination made in heaven. This sounds and looks beyond delicious.
Yep, this drink is definitely for me. Even though it’s 20 C outside today I would like to have this. So definitely saving for the cooler weather later this year.
I love the combination of chili and chai! It’s currently summer here in the US, so I bet this would be delicious iced :)
Thanks Sarah – the flavours blend together so well :) Im sure it would be great iced, I plan to try it that way myself once the weather heats up here :)
This was delicious Dearna. I made a hybrid using this and your chai-spiced almond milk recipe, so I didn’t use the chili or black tea. I loved how the chai spices make the hot chocolate so much more interesting without overpowering it.
Wow! Lovely recipe and amazing photography and styling! So happy i discovered your blog.
Sam x
Thanks so much Sam – so happy to have you here :)