Spice Latte with Sweet Chestnuts

This spice latte is pretty easy to make and when you cannot find fresh chestnuts available, you can use them from a jar or vacuum packed from your supermarket. You can also use baked sweet potatoes or Hokaido pumpkins as a replacement for chestnuts. They work just fine. This drink can perfectly replace a dessert or a snack, as it is very filling. 

Ingredients:

100g steamed and pealed sweet chestnuts (or 300g sweet potato or pumpkin, baked in the oven)

600 ml almond milk (or a mixture oat milk + coconut milk or the plant milk of your preference)

1 t.s. cinnamon 

sweetener to taste (sucanat / mascobado, agave syrup, dates, stevia)

1 t.s. cardamom powder

1/4 t.s. mace powder (or nutmeg)

1/4 t.s. allspice powder

1 star anise

freshly harvested sweet chestnuts are highly nutritious and can take part in so many delicious recipes

Mix the cooked and peeled chestnuts with the other ingredients, except the star anise, until smooth.
Pour it into a sauce cooking pan. Add the star anise. 
Bring the liquid to a boil. 
Reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer for 8-10 minutes, until the chestnut and milk seem well thickened. If too thick, add more milk. Serve immediately.

Feel free to play with the spices of your liking, adding a little bit more or less of each spice. The suggested amounts here are more a guideline than a "rule". 

Each version I make tastes totally different. There is no problem if you don't have all these spices at home. It works fine only with cinnamon and cardamom for instance. 

*Note: if you harvest sweet chestnuts for the first time, please make sure to learn the difference between them and horse chestnut, a similar nut that can also be found under large trees in the same season. Here is a post with pictures that can help you with that:
Sweet chestnuts and Horse chestnuts: how to tell the difference.

Curious about how nutritious sweet chestnuts are? Take a look the nutrition facts: