Hot cocoa addicts' hangout

Tani touched on the best style of hot chocolate. Kind of. The trick is to slowly melt dark chocolate in a warm water bath, and then mix it in with hot milk from that point, blending the whole thing into a delicious, dark, dark chocolate mix. Then you add either hot chili, or cayenne (makes it a little sweet) and then sip over the course of an hour. It will blow your fucking mind.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by *AkirA*

Im trying this tonight. Im serious leaving to pick up some dark chocolate in a few minutes.

The chili is important... it will catch right on the back of your tongue. Better than an orgasm.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by *AkirA*

I drove to a 24 hour Kroger up the road, and got the dark chocolate only to come home and realize I have no milk.

Tomorrow I will return a verdict. Its too late to drive back out. I want the full effect. No substitutes.

Well, if you're going out tomorrow, I'll give you a more complex recipe. The one I gave you will work fine, though you may want to sweeten it a little. Anyway, here's how I make it when I'm doing it for company.


This is called Mayan Hot Chocolate.

Basically what you need is this:
2 cups boiling water
1 chile pepper, cut in half, seeds removed
5 cups light cream or whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cinnamon stick
8 oz bittersweet / dark chocolate or 3 tablets of Mexican chocolate, grated or slivered thin.
2 tablespoons sugar or honey, (really this is just to taste, so however much you want)

Dried chile powder or cayenne (I prefer cayenne, as the bright red makes for a very nice presentation)

l tablespoon almonds or hazelnuts, ground extra fine (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)





Now, for preparation.



Take a saucepan, add the water and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, add the chili pepper to the water, and cook until the water reduces down to about a cup. Remove the chili pepper, strain the water, and set it to the side.



In a saucepan, at medium heat, combine the cream/milk, vanilla bean, and cinnamon stick until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low, add your chocolate shavings, your sugar/honey, and whisk it until the chocolate is melted and the sugar is completely disolved. This is important. No lumpy sugar. Now turn off the heat, remove the vanilla and cinnamon sticks. Add the chile water, a bit at a time, tasting to make sure the flavour of the chile doesn't overpower the chocolate. If the mixture is too thick, lighten it with cream/milk, NOT WATER.

Now, you want to serve this in small, thin, tea-like cups for proper presentation. I like to leave a strand of the vanilla bean in the cup, standing upright, only for the look. And then sprinkle the cayenne/chili powder on top. Just a little, it's more for the colour than anything. Give it a quick swirl to make the colours spiral on the top of the chocolate, and then you're golden. Also, if you want, you can top it with whipped cream and crushed nuts, though that's slightly less traditional (though, to be VERY traditional... no sugar. It's bitter, but a great taste sensation when paired with fresh fruit or a dessert.)

Enjoy.



This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by *AkirA*

That recipe almost warrants another trip tonight. I will be shopping tomorrow after work. Thats a gurantee.

Quick question. Will the Hershey's dark chocalate work ok, or do you insist on another?

Hershey's is fine. Just make sure you shave it really thing so it melts evenly. Lumps = not as much fun.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?