| Real Hot Chocolate |
Author: Nancy Baggett
A key to making memorable hot chocolate is –duh!—starting with a suitable chocolate. Bars or blocks of quality dark eating chocolate or baking chocolate that are between 55 and 70 % cacao work best in this recipe. Skip milk chocolates as they lack the robust flavor needed. Don’t try to substitute chocolate morsels designed for making chocolate chip cookies either, even premium ones. Morsels are usually designed not to melt out much during baking, so they resist combining with liquids, even when thoroughly heated.
Most high-end brands of dark bars, blocks, or pistoles (discs) such as Lindt, Ghirardelli, Valrhona, Callebaut, etc., include the percent of cacao information somewhere on the package.
Basically, a number of 65 % tells you that the product is 65 % chocolate solids and cocoa butter. In the case of any dark chocolate lacking nuts, citrus, or spice bits, salt crystals, etc., you can extrapolate that most of the remaining 35 % is sugar. Don’t worry! This quantity of sugar is actually in the desirable range as hot chocolate needs about this amount of sweetness to be tasty.
In contrast, a very dark, very bittersweet brand that is, say, 85 % cacao, will necessitate adding in extra sugar to balance the bitterness. And if the sugar isn’t fully dissolved, your hot chocolate may be gritty. Even more important, the very high cacao chocolates (80 to 100 % cacao) are much trickier to mix into liquids smoothly. You can double this recipe if desired. The lightly spiced version here is delicious, but if you prefer, sub a 2-inch piece of vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise, for the spices and continue exactly as directed.
Tip:I often use a combination of two brands of chocolate depending on what’s available when I’m shopping. I particularly like the Lindt 70% bar but to create a slightly sweeter hot chocolate I sub in 1 ½ to 2 ounces of a Ghirardelli 60% cacao bar, or 1 ounce of a Trader Joe’s “Pound Plus” 54% cacao bar. Try experimenting to come up a custom blend of your own!
Most high-end brands of dark bars, blocks, or pistoles (discs) such as Lindt, Ghirardelli, Valrhona, Callebaut, etc., include the percent of cacao information somewhere on the package.
Basically, a number of 65 % tells you that the product is 65 % chocolate solids and cocoa butter. In the case of any dark chocolate lacking nuts, citrus, or spice bits, salt crystals, etc., you can extrapolate that most of the remaining 35 % is sugar. Don’t worry! This quantity of sugar is actually in the desirable range as hot chocolate needs about this amount of sweetness to be tasty.
In contrast, a very dark, very bittersweet brand that is, say, 85 % cacao, will necessitate adding in extra sugar to balance the bitterness. And if the sugar isn’t fully dissolved, your hot chocolate may be gritty. Even more important, the very high cacao chocolates (80 to 100 % cacao) are much trickier to mix into liquids smoothly. You can double this recipe if desired. The lightly spiced version here is delicious, but if you prefer, sub a 2-inch piece of vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise, for the spices and continue exactly as directed.
Tip:I often use a combination of two brands of chocolate depending on what’s available when I’m shopping. I particularly like the Lindt 70% bar but to create a slightly sweeter hot chocolate I sub in 1 ½ to 2 ounces of a Ghirardelli 60% cacao bar, or 1 ounce of a Trader Joe’s “Pound Plus” 54% cacao bar. Try experimenting to come up a custom blend of your own!
Ingredients
- 1½ cups whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 5 or 6⅛-inch thick peeled, nickel-sized slices fresh ginger root
- ¼ teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds (or substitute ¼ teaspoon crushed allspice berries)
- 4½ to 5½ ounces 55 to 70 percent cacao semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (use the larger amount of chocolate if it has less than 62 percent cacao), plus extra grated for garnishing
- 2 to 4 teaspoons granulated sugar, or to taste
- Lightly sweetened whipped cream for garnish
Instructions
- In a large saucepan bring the milk, cream, ginger root and cardamom just to a boil over medium-high heat. (Alternatively, combine the ingredients in a heat-proof 4-quart measure and microwave on high until just boiling; watch closely to prevent a boil-over.) Immediately stir and set aside; let the mixture to steep for 10-15 minutes (or longer for a stronger spice flavor). Meanwhile, chop the chocolate into ¼-inch bits. Place it in another medium-sized saucepan.
- Reheat the steeped milk mixture until very hot but not boiling. Strain it through a very fine mesh sieve into a heat-proof pitcher or clean heat-proof glass measure. Press down on the spices to extract as much liquid as possible. Set the saucepan with the chocolate over lowest heat, then immediately vigorously whisk in a scant ½ cup hot milk mixture. At first the chocolate will break into fine bits, but continue whisking until it comes together smoothly. Repeat the process, adding ½ cup milk mixture and whisking until the completely smooth and well blended; check carefully to be sure no fine bits remain. Very slowly add the remainder of the milk mixture in a thin stream, whisking until the hot chocolate is very smooth. Taste and thoroughly stir in sugar to increase sweetness, if desired.
- Reheat the hot chocolate until piping hot but not boiling; divide between cups or pour into a very large mug. Immediately top the hot chocolate generously with dollops of whipped cream (don’t stir it in). Sprinkle lightly with grated chocolate and serve, along with a spoon. For leftover hot chocolate, lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the top to prevent a skin from forming, then refrigerate for up to 4 days. Remove the plastic and reheat to piping hot before serving. 2 servings (2 cups)
Recipe by KitchenLane at https://kitchenlane.com/2019/02/real-hot-chocolate.html