Cocoa creams are one of the most used ingredients for children's snacks, although their usual consumption is not recommended because of their high fat and sugar content. We'll see what cocoa cream is made of and how to make it ourselves.
Cocoa cream with hazelnuts is made up of 50% sugar, 30% fat and 20% distributed between cocoa, hazelnuts and milk, which is sometimes milk powder, sometimes milk whey or lactose. The amount of fat added is large, necessary to make the cream, but it can be healthier or less, depending on its origin.
If the fat is cocoa butter, much better, because it is rich in stearic acid, a saturated fat that does not harm cardiovascular health. Cocoa also contains a good amount of flavonoids, antioxidants.
What happens is that marketed cocoa creams (Nocilla, Nutella, white brands) usually have a small amount of cocoa butter and instead provide fatty acids (such as palm fat), which are not healthy.
In short, from a nutritional point of view, cocoa creams have a lot of fat and sugar and many calories, so it is not advisable to abuse these creams, or eat them daily, but if a balanced diet is done, they can occasionally included in the menu.
Cocoa Cream Recipe
We are going to put on our apron and from the hands of our colleagues from Directo to the palate (or Armando, who already brought us his own homemade cocoa cream recipe), we are going to cook it.
Ingredients: 50 grams of roasted hazelnuts, 75 grams of icing sugar, 50 grams of chocolate for 70% coverage, 50 grams of white chocolate, 75 grams of milk, 50 grams of soft olive oil.
Preparation: In the crusher or chopper (mortar if we do not have) we introduce the hazelnuts and icing sugar. We crush it for about five minutes at full power, to get the hazelnuts to release their oil and obtain very fine pasta. Heat the milk for a minute in the microwave and pour it over the pasta, crush again to mix well.
In a deep dish, we put one of the chocolates with half the oil. We put it in the microwave for twenty seconds so that it melts. We remove it from the microwave, stir it until it homogenizes with the oil. We will repeat the operation one or two more times, if we see that it is necessary.
You can change the hazelnuts for another chopped dried fruit, or add a touch of vanilla or grated coconut. Cocoa cream is preserved at room temperature, in a cool and dry place. If we keep it in the fridge it will solidify and we cannot spread it.
We already have our "nocilla" or homemade cocoa cream, but remember to eat in moderation, preferably at snacks or dessert at home (to be able to brush your teeth afterwards) and as a minimum part of a balanced diet.
