Chocolate-hazelnut strawberries

Strawberries coated in dark chocolate and hazelnuts make a nutritious treat.

Even though we have too many hot days here in the UK, we need something to cool us down and what better way to do this than making our own sweet treats. These desserts are chilled-baked, and they are easy to make!

Treats like chocolate-hazelnut strawberries are easy to make and you only need three ingredients, which are:

• Strawberries – you can buy any kind of strawberries, just as long as they have green stems at the end (great for dipping the chocolate). Contains Vitamin C, antioxidants, manganese, folate, and potassium. They also contain fibre and are low in calories.

• Dark Chocolate – contains several beneficial nutrients and vitamins. Including protein, which is considered to have anti-inflammatory properties.

• Hazelnuts - they contain healthy fats, protein, and fibre. They are also a good source of various vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, thiamin, magnesium, copper, and manganese. Plus, they are low in calories.

Why do you need to try these Chocolate Hazelnut Covered Strawberries:

• Easy to make

• Three easy ingredients to buy

• They are vegan

• Gluten-free

• Can be made nut-free

Ingredients:

For the base:

• 227g fresh strawberries

For the toppings:

• 150g dark chocolate (melted)

• 50g hazelnuts (chopped)

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 200°C, fan oven 180°C or gas mark 7 and wait for the oven to heat.

2. Place the hazelnuts in an oven-baked tray and roast them in the oven for 10 minutes. After that, take the tray out of the oven and leave it to cool.

3. Fill half of the saucepan with water, place a small metal bowl on top and heat it on the stove on medium heat. Then break the dark chocolate into little pieces and add it to the bowl, and stir in gently using a wooden spoon. (Another option would be to break the chocolate into little pieces, place it in a microwaveable bowl, then put it in a microwave and set the timer to 1 minute.) Make sure you keep mixing the dark chocolate until it is melted.

4. For the hazelnuts, place the nuts inside a see-through plastic bag and use a rolling pin to gently break the nuts. Make sure you continue breaking the nuts until they look like crumbs.

5. Wash the strawberries in cold water, then dip the strawberries into the dark chocolate and sprinkle the hazelnuts on the chocolate-covered strawberries. (Alternatively, do it like I did and dip the strawberries into the hazelnuts, allowing all of the hazelnuts to be covered all over.)

6. Then place the chocolate-hazelnuts strawberries in the fridge overnight (or four hours) and enjoy!

Written by: Seema Boksh

Photograph by: Seema Boksh