Hot Chocolot!

Some days, it’s time to bring out the big guns.  If you are in the mood for a decadent, rich treat, try this hot chocolate recipe.

You will need:

1 ½ cup milk

½ cup heavy cream

1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons sugar

Vanilla to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon)

If you can get your hands on premium cocoa powder from a specialty market, I would highly recommend it.  In Salt Lake City, we’re lucky enough to have numerous shops that carry premium ingredients.  The particular cocoa powder I used this time is from Caputo’s Market, and it’s made by one of the premier chocolate makers in the world (and one of my personal favorites)—Pralus.  In this recipe, I used the Pralus Djakarta powder, which is relatively inexpensive at $12/lb.  If you don’t have access to premium powder, you can definitely use regular cocoa powder and it will be just fine.

Mix the cocoa powder with the sugar in a small bowl, and you’ll want to add a small amount of the milk (around 1/3 cup).  This will allow you to mix the cocoa powder and avoid having large clumps later on.  Meanwhile, heat the milk and cream in a saucepan.  Once the milk is heated to around 170 degrees, pour in the cocoa powder/sugar/milk mixture, and stir until blended.  Add the vanilla.  Take off the heat and let it cool down to a safe drinking temperature.

Feel free to experiment, and adjust this recipe to your tastes.  You may want to lessen the sugar in order to get a bit more of the bitterness of the cocoa, or you may find it overpowering.  You may want to throw in a couple pieces of premium chocolate as the hot chocolate is cooling down to give it a little extra boost of richness.  Adding a piece of Chocolot chocolates to melt in the mug is also a fun thing to do.  And, of course, you need to have marshmallows.  Play around until you find the proportions that are suited for your tastes.

Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

 -Ryan