Chocolate and hazelnut spread

‘When I visited Alba in Piedmont a few years ago, the first thing I noticed was the most incredible scent of roasting hazelnuts,’ recalls Giovanna. ‘The region is also renowned for its chocolate and hazelnut spread, which is a world away from the stuff you find in the shops. If you can get Piedmont hazelnuts, they will make a difference, but they are expensive and supermarket nuts will be fine. This makes quite a dark chocolate spread, so for a slightly less intense option, use less cocoa powder.’

Makes 2 small jars

* 200g blanched hazelnuts

* 180g icing sugar

* 220g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

* 300ml double cream

* 50g cocoa powder

* 2tsp vanilla extract

* ½tsp salt

1 If the hazelnuts aren’t roasted, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4, spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. They don’t need to be very browned, it’s just to bring the oil out of them. Leave to cool.

2 Place the hazelnuts and icing sugar in a food processor or blender and blend until you have a thick paste.

This can take a while and you might need to scrape down the sides to incorporate everything. It should have the consistency of thick nut butter. Leave in the blender.

3 Place the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Heat the cream with the cocoa powder, vanilla and salt in a saucepan until just about to boil, then pour over the chocolate. Whisk to combine. If the mixture looks like it’s starting to split, don’t worry, just stop whisking. It will be fixed in the next step. 4 Pour the chocolate mixture into the blender with the nut butter and blend briefly, just for as long as it takes to fully combine. 5 Pour the mixture into sterilised jars (see pickles recipe on p56 for sterilising instructions), seal and leave to cool completely. Because it contains cream, it needs to be stored in the fridge, but remove to soften slightly before using. Use within two weeks.