CHOCOLATEHAZELNUT POTS

20 MINS, PLUS CHILLING TIME

SERVES 2

I use a powerful Vitamix blender to blitz the nuts to a very smooth mixture with the chocolate. If yours isn’t so strong, keep the nuts out of the mousse and chop them all for a topping instead, otherwise you might end up with a grainy chocolate pot. Or you could use smooth hazelnut chocolate in place of plain dark.

— 2 tbsp blanched hazelnuts

— 100ml full-fat milk or nut milk

— 70g dark (about 70 per cent) chocolate, roughly broken into squares

— 1½ tbsp maple syrup — 1 small egg

— ½ tsp vanilla extract — 2 mixed handfuls of your favourite fruits, such as halved cherries, pomegranate seeds, and a few chopped strawberries, to serve

Toast the hazelnuts in a frying pan for a few minutes until fragrant and lightly golden all over. Set aside.

Gently heat the milk in a saucepan for about one minute, until hot but not bubbling.

Set aside about 10g of the chocolate and place the rest in a highpowered blender or food processor with the maple syrup, egg, vanilla extract and half of the toasted hazelnuts (reserve the rest for garnishing).

Carefully pour or ladle a third of the hot milk into the blender and blend until smooth, then repeat until all the milk is incorporated and the mixture is silky smooth (adding the milk slowly in stages avoids the egg scrambling in the heat).

Divide the mixture between two small ramekins or heatproof glasses and leave in the fridge for 1-1½ hours, or in the freezer for 45 minutes, to set.

When you’re ready to serve, finely chop the remaining hazelnuts and dark chocolate and scatter over the top, along with a tiny sprinkle of sea-salt flakes and the fruit.