Nutella Liqueur With A Kick!

You may remember folks, I mentioned ordering a small jar of Nutella before Xmas but they replaced it with a very large jar (for the same price).  So it has been sitting in my pantry for a few weeks almost full and calling to me with its deadly siren song.  I made Irish cream liqueur as Xmas gifts and thought I would extend the idea to the lurking Nutella.  I checked out the Net and found heaps of recipes online, so have based my recipe on this one.  I love the way the recipe says to taste and add more vodka if desired.  It is already so strong you can feel your hair curl as you drink it so I can only imagine who is crazy enough to desire more vodka in it!  But different strokes for different folks as they say.  I was saying to Mr Pickings the other day that the person who invented Nutella must have been absolutely out of their mind with happiness (and money) when they realised how many people loved it and were willing to buy it.  Apparently the inventor was Mr Ferrero (yes of that famous chocolate company) who invented it in the 1940's;  he used hazelnuts as a filler because chocolate was hard to come by during the War.  Talk about serendipity!  He would have won that TV show for sure -  you know the one where you invent a new food product for a supermarket?  I have to get my brain working on that; surely I can invent something fabulous? :)   But in the meantime I will drink this to get my brain sparking.

ingredients:

210g. of Nutella
100g. of vanilla caster sugar
300 mls thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract - optional
500 mls of Vodka

method:

Place the Nutella and sugar into a medium saucepan
Whisk together till combined
Slowly pour in the cream while stirring
Keep whisking while you heat it over a low to medium heat till it starts to simmer gently
Stir in the extract(s)
Take off the heat and allow to cool right down
Add the vodka and whisk it well till you have a smooth chocolatey liquid
Pour it into small bottles

It will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

whisk Nutella and sugar together 

stir in that luscious cream

keep stirring 

stirred!   Now add the extract(s)

vodka mixed in and ready to bottle

cute little bottles ready for the fridge 

beautiful hazelnut tree (author Eirian Evans)