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Hot Chocolate
from
Chocolate, with many variations
My current favorite way to prepare
hot chocolate is the simplest possible, and really brings home the
flavor of the chocolate you start with: just hot water and
chocolate. I find it more satisfying than starting with
chocolate
than cocoa, and if I have a mug with breakfast, I can go a long
time
before lunch. In the plainest version, you only taste the
chocolate, unadulterated; I am partial to Scharffenberger's
70%
bittersweet, but
it is more important to start with a good rich chocolate that you
enjoy
eating than to use any one variety.
With milk:
Richer
and more like what you're
probably used to
Dark semisweet or bittersweet chocolate of your choice, about 1
ounce,
broken up into small bits
1 C milk
In the mug you'll drink from, microwave the chocolate for
about
a minute on high power. Remove from microwave and, in a
separate
container, microwave the milk for 1-2 minutes until it is hot but
not
boiling. While the milk heats, stir the melting
chocolate.
It probably will still have some lumps.
Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and stir
until
smooth. If it tastes a little thin, add a bit more chocolate
next
time.
With water:
Less rich, but more purely chocolate, and
simpler to make
Dark semisweet or bittersweet
chocolate of
your choice, about 1 ounce, broken up into small bits
1 C boiling water
Pour
the
water over the chocolate and stir until smooth. If it tastes
a little thin, add a bit more chocolate. Be careful when
tasting,
as this really holds the heat and easily burns your mouth. I
often start with a little less water, and add an ice cube at the
end to
take the edge off.
Some more variations to tempt your palate:
With chili and
cinnamon
With
Thai lime and long pepper
With
Arabian Spices
With Star
Anise and Pink Pepper
With
Cassia buds, Orange and Cardamom
With Ginger and Cardamom
With Mace, Star Anise, and
Cinnamon
With
Coconut
Curry
With Basil and Long Pepper
With Osmanthus
("Orchid") Blossoms
With Chili and Cinnamon
warm and spicy, just lovely; by
far
my favorite lately, one I can drink daily for months at a time
without
getting tired of it
1/4 teaspoon ground new
mexico
chili (nice chili flavor with a bit of heat)
1/8 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
I've been using the 'red new mexico chile powder (hot)' from
los
chileros, which is quite lovely stuff.
With Thai lime and long
pepper
1-2 oz cream
2 lime leaves*
1-2 oz bittersweet
chocolate,
in small pieces
pint milk
2 long peppercorns**
, freshly ground
Heat the cream
briefly in the microwave with the lime leaves. Let steep
10
minutes.
Heat the milk to just below boiling then pour over the chocolate
and
stir until smooth. Strain the cream mixture into the
chocolate,
and stir in the pepper.
*"Thai" or "makrut"
or "kaffir" lime leaves, fresh or frozen, found in asian
markets
**long
pepper
is a cousin to black peppercorns, but they are about an inch
long; their flavor is pepper plus a fruitier component,
reminiscent of
cardamom. You are unlikely to find them most places that
sell
spices (I
get mine online), but recently I found them featured at Whole
Foods. A good alternative would be 1/4 teaspoon black
pepper plus
a
pinch of ground cardamom.
With Arabian Spices
Pint milk
1-2 oz bittersweet chocolate, in small pieces
1/4 t cardamom seeds (or 1/4-1/2 t ground cardamom)
1/4 t whole mace bits (or 1/4 t freshly ground nutmeg)
1/4 inch vietnamese stick cinnamon, broken up into bits
Zap milk in microwave to just boiling or heat on
stove. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until
melted
and smooth.
While heating milk, grind the spices in a peppermill, or add
ground
spices if you must. The whole spices freshly ground have a
more
rounded flavor, especially the fresh mace, so are worth seeking
out. Indian groceries are great sources for whole
mace.
Ground mace in the cans is almost worthless, so I'd grate a bit of
nutmeg instead.
With
Star Anise and Pink Pepper
The genius behind this
flavor
combination was not mine--I got the idea from Michael
Recchiuti's
chocolates
As above, but stir in about
1/8-1/4 teaspoon powdered star
anise
1/8 teaspoon ground pink
peppercorn
or more to taste. I like to make up a couple of
tablespoons of this in my spice mill and add a generous pinch to
my
chocolate until it runs out.
OR
Steep in 2 tbsp hot cream (preferably let it cool overnight in the
fridge)
1 star anise
6-10 pink peppercorns, coarsely
crushed
And stir into your chocolate as above.
Note that the pink peppercorn is not a pink version of black
pepper,
but a different plant, native to Brazil.
With
Cassia buds, Orange and Cardamom
delicately fruity and spicy
In a spice grinder, mix together 1 part cardamom seeds (not pods,
just
seeds) to 2 parts cassia buds and pulverize to fine powder.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of this to a pint of hot chocolate made as above,
a
few drops of orange oil.
OR
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
2-3 drops of orange oil
With Ginger and Cardamom
the ginger makes the chocolate seem sweeter
1 part ground cardamom seeds (if starting from whole
spices, use the seeds and not the pods)
4 parts ginger
just under 1/4 teaspoon of this mix per 8 oz cup of
chocolate
With
Mace,
Star Anise, and Cinnamon
this combination gives a
little more roundness to the flavor than you'd get by nutmeg or
mace
alone--the cinnamon is only an accent
In a spice grinder, mix together
2 parts blade mace (whole
mace
pieces,
easily available at Indian groceries)
1 part star anise
1 part
cinnamon sticks, ideally the thinner, softer ceylon or
vietnamese
cinnamon
pulverize to fine powder.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of this to a pint of hot chocolate made as above,
stir, and enjoy.
OR
1/4 teaspoon ground mace or nutmeg, freshest is best
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/8 teaspoon ground star anise or anise seed
With
coconut currry
(inspired by the Vosges Naga milk chocolate bar)
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon coriander
3/8 teaspoon mild chili powder or sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon coconut milk powder or unsweetened dried flaked
coconut,
whirled with the spices in a spice grinder
Use about 1 tablespoon of this mixture per cup of strong hot
chocolate,
or to taste
With
basil
and long pepper
I
recommend making no more than you intend
to
drink at one time; the delicate basil flavors do not withstand
refrigeration or freezing well
one half pint heavy cream
about two ounces or 4-6 stems of fresh basil, rinsed and coarsely
chopped
12-15 long peppercorns, freshly ground, or about 1 1/2 teaspoons
of
freshly ground black pepper
Heat the cream, basil and pepper together to near boiling, keep
hot
about 5 minutes, then let steep overnight in the refrigerator.
Heat again the next morning, drain and strain through a fine
strainer. The heating and steeping can be done in a very
small
saucepan on the stove, with careful stirring, or in a glass dish
in the
microwave. You may need to press the leaves into the cream a
few
times as they heat up and soften, because the cream will not want
to
cover them all at first.
Then stir a little of this mixture into a cup of hot chocolate
made
with about one ounce of chocolate, to your taste.
With one and a half teaspoons to a cup, it was barely detectable,
not
too interesting.
One tablespoon per cup was getting downright lively and
interesting.
One and a half tablespoons per cup is fabulous. Basil and
pepper
coming through clearly, but gently. Yum.
Chocolate
with
Osmanthus blossoms
Dried osmanthus blossoms are
used to
flavor teas: often mixtures with 'orchid' in the name are
flavored with osmanthus. I had some around, and a post in
the
chocolate topic in chow.ind on the WELL got me thinking....and
steeping....
About 1 tablespoon (15 mL) dried
osmanthus blossoms
1 cup very hot water (boiling or
near
boiling)
1 ounce dark chocolate
Steep the osmanthus in the hot water for 5 minutes. Strain
the
flowers out and pour the hot water over the chocolate in a clean
glass
or mug. Stir. Enjoy!
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