Haute Chocolate

  • Haute Chocolate

    Baby, it’s cold outside… (so the song goes).

    And what better way to warm up than with a cup of outrageous hot chocolate, in front of a fire?  (Well, I’d warm up pretty quickly with a nice glass of wine, but this little site ‘o mine is called More Sweets, Please, not More Booze, Please.)

    Why ‘haute’ instead of ‘hot’?  It’s because this is a snobby hot chocolate.  It screams for the good stuff, the quality stuff.  If you don’t want to cough up the cash on the chi chi chocolate and vanilla, then it will absolutely still knock your socks off if you use Hershey’s or whatever.  But don’t you think you deserve a high-end treat?  Think of it this way- if you buy a block of snobby chocolate, you’ll only use 4 ounces of the good chocolate here, and you’ll have enough left to make other decadent treats… like the Rocky Road Chunks, which is a fine example.

    By the way- did you know that it’s scientifically proven that people think hot chocolate tastes better when it’s served in an orange or cream-colored cup?  Not that you need any help with this Haute Chocolate, but if you happen to have a cream mug (because why would you have an orange one, really?), it’ll blow your socks off.  (Note: I need to get cream mugs.)

    One more embarrassing point: you’d never know from the picture above that the whipped cream was sort of… off.  I unwittingly served The Husband something that rightfully earned its own post in the Recipe for Disaster section: The Dairy Disaster.

    Adapted from epicurious’s recipe… makes 2 cups…

    2 cups whole milk

    Pinch of salt (barely 1/8 teaspoon)

    4 ounces bittersweet (60% cacao) or semi-sweet Guittard or Ghiradelli chocolate, chopped into very small pieces

    1/2 inch of scraped vanilla bean seeds (from a real vanilla bean)*

    1 – 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (use Guittard, King Arthur Flour double-dutch dark cocoa)

    TOPPING (optional):

    1/4 cup whipping cream (optional for topping)

    1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar

    sprinkle of chocolate shavings, or drizzle of chocolate sauce/ bourbon-caramel sauce

    1. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk and salt to a simmer over medium heat, then remove it from the heat and add the chocolate.  Allow pan to rest for 1 minute, then whisk the mixture until chocolate is melted and liquid is smooth.
    2. Stir in vanilla bean scrapings with cocoa powder (if necessary to eliminate cocoa powder clumps, reheat the hot chocolate over medium-low heat, stirring, &/or strain through a sieve before serving).
    3. WHIPPING CREAM:  beat cold cream using whisk attachment on a mixer, and add confectioners’ sugar, beating until soft peaks form.  Spoon a hefty dollop on each cup of Haute Chocolate (or fill into a piping bag and use a star tip if you want to get all decorative), and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

     Tips:

    • Want to cut a few calories?  (You’ve come to the wrong website.)  You can switch out the whole milk for a lighter version… or do the reverse to live it up: use half-and-half cream!  (Clearly you can omit the whipping cream for the garnish, as a “lighter” option.)  Or just drink a smaller (orange) cup?
    • *No vanilla bean?  I’m sorry.  You can use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (real, not imitation) if you must go low-brow (!).
    • Don’t want too much chocolate? You can omit the cocoa powder, or reduce big-time.  If the cocoa powder clumps on you, you can strain the liquid.
    • Whipping wonder:whipping cream whips up SO much nicer if you chill the bowl & beater first, just so you know.  (Oh, and you might want to use fresh cream, as discussed.)
    • Garnish options are really up to you.  Chocolate shavings AND drizzles are always nice.  But that bourbon-caramel sauce– man, have you tried that yet?  It’s worth eating on it’s own.

     

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    January 16th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: ,

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