Showing posts with label drinking chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drinking chocolate. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2015
MAKE LUSCIOUS,VELVETY DRINKING CHOCOLATE WITH THIS HOMEMADE MIX
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In 2010, I wrote a blog post about a new (to me) discovery-- drinking chocolate.
"Technically speaking, hot cocoa and hot chocolate are two very different beverages. Hot cocoa comes from a powder, while hot chocolate is (once again, technically speaking) what many call "drinking chocolate" or "sipping chocolate" - it's made from chopped bits of chocolate or small chocolate pellets that are melted (slowly and painstakingly) and then blended with milk, cream and/or water. True hot chocolate tends to be much denser and richer than its powdery relative.
Interestingly enough, some Americans are repulsed by this more European beverage because it is so rich. However, I think this has more to do with American ideas of beverage sizes. Europeans tend to drink hot chocolate in small mugs or demitasse cups, while Americans are accustomed to over-sized mugs for their hot drinks. I, too, would be disgusted by the idea of drinking a huge mug of (basically) melted chocolate, but I find that drinking chocolate is a wonderfully satisfying winter drink when served in smaller quantities." From: http://coffeetea.about.com/b/2009/10/16/hot-cocoa-vs-drinking-chocolate.htm
There are several delicious brands commercially available, but I have a hard time obtaining them in my area, so I decided to make my own mix, combining cocoa powder and some dark chocolate. It's easy, absolutely divine, and would make a lovely gift, too. If you have never tasted "hot chocolate" made this way, you are in for a wonderful surprise.
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Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S
HOMEMADE DRINKING CHOCOLATE MIX
Servings: @15
Drinking chocolate
provides a rich, velvety, not-too-sweet chocolate hit-- an espresso cupful (using 1/4 cup non-dairy milk), which is
small, but very satisfying.
1 cup unsweetened
cocoa powder (preferably fair trade, organic, Dutch-processed)
5 tablespoons good-quality semisweet chocolate chips (preferably fair trade, organic)
OR USE 2.3 oz./66g chopped good quality semisweet chocolate (preferably fair trade, organic)
OR USE 2.3 oz./66g chopped good quality semisweet chocolate (preferably fair trade, organic)
1/2 cup + 3
tablespoons brown sugar, coconut sugar or Sucanat (dehydrated sugar
cane juice)
4 teaspoons
cornstarch (organic is available)
1 pinch salt
OPTIONAL: (Note:
Add flavorings just before serving, for better flavor.)
pure vanilla
extract, chili powder, cinnamon, grated orange rind or other
flavoring of your choice, to taste
FOR EACH SERVING,
ESPRESSO-STYLE:
2 tablespoons Homemade Drinking Chocolate Mix
2 tablespoons Homemade Drinking Chocolate Mix
1/4 cup non-dairy
milk of choice, or water, if you prefer (I use Silk Original Soy)
To make the the
Drinking Chocolate Mix:
1. In a very dry
blender container, grind the cocoa, chocolate, sugar and cornstarch
at high speed until there are no lumps in it. Store in a clean, dry
jar, tightly covered.
To prepare the hot Drinking Chocolate:
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| Those lumps you see, BTW, are not chunks of chocolate-- they are clumps of the powder |
1. For each serving, mix 2 tablespoons
of the Drinking Chocolate Mix into 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (or use water,
if you prefer) .
2. If you are making only 1 or 2 servings, you can combine the Drinking Chocolate Mix with the milk in the espresso cup(s) with a very small wire whisk.
3. For 3 or 4 servings, you can blend with a hand-held immersion blender in a 1 qt. Pyrex pitcher until well mixed and quite frothy and heat it in the microwave in the same pitcher. 4.) You can use a blender if you are making a larger batch, and transfer it to a 2 qt. Pyrex pitcher for microwaving. Make sure that there is plenty of room for a larger batch to froth up.
2. If you are making only 1 or 2 servings, you can combine the Drinking Chocolate Mix with the milk in the espresso cup(s) with a very small wire whisk.
3. For 3 or 4 servings, you can blend with a hand-held immersion blender in a 1 qt. Pyrex pitcher until well mixed and quite frothy and heat it in the microwave in the same pitcher. 4.) You can use a blender if you are making a larger batch, and transfer it to a 2 qt. Pyrex pitcher for microwaving. Make sure that there is plenty of room for a larger batch to froth up.
I heat the
mixture in the microwave-- at High power for 30 seconds for one serving, or about 50 seconds for 2 servings, adding seconds as appropriate if your microwave is lower power. 2 minutes for 3 or 4
servings should be fine. The mixture should stay frothy and thicken a bit.
If you prefer the stovetop method, heat the mixture in an appropriately-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once the chocolate starts to melt, gently whisk the mixture to combine. Bring the mixture just to the boil-- keep an eye on it! If you are adding a flavoring, this is the time, but don't overdo it!
If you prefer the stovetop method, heat the mixture in an appropriately-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once the chocolate starts to melt, gently whisk the mixture to combine. Bring the mixture just to the boil-- keep an eye on it! If you are adding a flavoring, this is the time, but don't overdo it!
Serve in small
espresso cups and enjoy immediately!
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (not coconut) + 2 Tablespoons Drinking Chocolate mix
Amount Per
Serving
77 calories, 13 calories from fat, 2g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 7.6mg sodium, 135.4mg potassium, 16.9g carbohydrates, 2.3g fiber, 10.5g sugar, 1.5g protein, 2.6 points.
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Enjoy!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
NEED A CHOCOLATE HIT?
UPDATE, Sunday June 7th, 2010: I have a confession to make: when I read the instructions on the can I wasn't wearing my new reading glasses [haven't gotten in the habit of reaching for them yet!] and I got the measurements wrong! I won't go into the details! But I wasn't too far off the mark, in the end, as far as how to make it. I did get the calories wrong-- in a good way! I said that 1/4 cup serving was 180 calories-- the good news is that it's only 77 calories (made with soymilk)! If I had used the proper directions on the can, a 1/3 cup serving would be 113 calories (with soymilk), so the proportions weren't totally off. I have changed the text below to reflect this. Sorry about that!!
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When I went shopping the other day, I noticed a Cocoa Camino (Canadian organic, fair trade) product I had never seen before-- Cocoa Camino Drinking Chocolate (here's a Canadian vendor)-- "the chocolate bar you can drink any time of the day". It is a blend of cocoa, ground dark chocolate and cane sugar-- no milk products and all ingredients fair trade and organic! (See USA brand below.)
Cocoa Camino products DO NOT contain GMO ingredients, or any of the following:
Corn syrup solids
Vegetable oils
Chemicals such as sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium silicoalaluminate, mono- and diglycerides
Artificial flavors
In addition, you can enjoy a luxury product knowing that the people who produce it are receiving fair wages for their labor. Please read about their fair trade partnerships here.
I've used their unsweetened cocoa powder and bittersweet vegan chocolate chips for years (now they have bittersweet chocolate chips, too), and they now have their own brand of organic golden cane sugar, organic brown sugar, and baking chocolate (unsweetened, bittersweet, and semi-sweet as well. (And, of course, they have a range of delicious chocolate bars!) They also have a line of professional products that have to be purchased in bulk through a distributor. I have used the bittersweet chocolate couverture and they are wonderful (UPDATE: they don't seem to be available anymore). Find out where to buy here.
(BTW, they did not send me any free products, pay me, or ask me to write this!)
This drinking chocolate provides a rich, velvety chocolate hit-- about 77 calories for an espresso cupful (using 1/4 cup soymilk), which is small, but very satisfying. You mix 4 teaspoons of the mix with 1/4 cup hot non-dairy milk of your choice. (The instructions on the can work out to 2 tablespoons mix with 1/3 cup milk). Heat up the milk (I heat it in a small coffee cup in the microwave for about 30 seconds), whisk in the chocolate until it's frothy and smooth, and then pour into an espresso cup. Sip slowly and enjoy!
In the USA, try Dagoba Authentic Drinking Chocolate, which is organic and fair trade, and available from amazon.com.
Update: I have needed a little indulgence this week. We had a great visit with my brother and sister-in-law from California, but my daughter-in-law is still in hospital in Vancouver and they are still trying to discover the source of her malady. My son and the 3 girls went off today to visit with her for a few days. (I am truly thankful right now for our Canadian medical system-- my brother told me that south of the border we would be in the 10's of thousands of $ by now, with a week in hospital, a helicopter ride, and the many, many tests she has had in the last few days! My sister-in-law, forgetting where she was, asked me if anyone in our families had money to spare, and I answered, "That isn't necessary here!")
Cheers!
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