Unique Hot Chocolate Recipes

Chocolate has been considered a drink of the gods or a form of magic for many centuries and actually, it contains drugs. These substances create a positive feeling in many people that they say feels like "being in love." See a link for this at Food Of the Gods and if you;d like to make your own chocolate, see: Make Your Own Chocolate.

I don't have that reaction to chocolate, so I confine my intake to a German Chocolate Cake once every couple of years and an occasional bite of dark chocolate. However, I have some recipes for Hot Chocolate that are different and very flavorful, so I use them once a twice a year as well.

One of the original recipes for Hot Chocolate contained a list of ingredients that suprise us today. These include only water, cacao beans (from where chocolate is derived), some sort of wine, and peppers. Some red or black pepper is actually quite good in either coffee or hot chocolate (really!), but the original hot chocolate recipes of Mexico and South and Central America contained no sugar or milk -- European influence added these in later.

Serves 6

for a variationon this recipe, substitute other flavors for the Vanilla or Almond Extract named in this recipe. Orange Extract or Mint Flavoring can be very good as well. You can also substitute Raspberry Liquer for a chocolate-raspberry concoction.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 Tbls granulated sugar A pinch of salt 2.5 Cups whole milk 2.5 Cups light cream
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract - or almond extract for a change
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Whipped cream for topping
• Grated, or cut curls, of chocolate – or chocolate sprinkles
• Orange zest

ISTRUCTIONS

• In a cooking pot, combine the cocoa, salt, and sugar.
• Next, add in the milk, stit and heat over moderate heat to dissolve – do not boil.
• Next, add in the light cream, cinnamon, and vanilla or almond extract and stir well.
• Continue to heat until the edges of the liquid just begin to show tiny bubbles.
• Remove from heat immediately.
• Mix the hot chocolate completely and pour into mugs. Pre-heat the mugs in the microwave for a minute if you like.
• Top the hot chocolate with whipped cream, chocolate, and orange zest.

The bean that provides chocolate is the cacao bean, although some people call it the "cocoa bean." It grows in tropical climates and in the Western hemisphere, specifically in Mexico and Central and South America. Native South and Central Americans and Native Mexican Ameircans cultivated and harvested the beans and produced their drink with water and chili peppers. Soem added their own wine.

The name of the bean and the drink "chocolate" has a varied background, depending upon where it was grown and processed as a beverage..

In Mexico, the Indigenous word was xocoatl in the Mayan languages. For the Aztec populations, cacahuatl was the word. Mexican Native Americans of other than Mayan or Aztec origins called it chocolat, derived from the words for "foaming water" or choco and atl - chocoatl. Euopeans changed the letters and sounds around for chocolate.

Food anthropologists feel that the Olmec Nation of the Americas  (South and Central America) were the first to harvest cacao beens and make a beverage from them as far back as 1500 BC or earlier. This gives hot chocolate a history of at least 3,500 years or more. 

All the way back through time to the first stone or wooden mug of hot chocolate, it was mandatory that the drink foamed on top, rather like beer. Legend and oral tradition among the Olmec and later the Mayans and Aztecs and their descendants was that the good spirit of the chocolate beverage resided in the foam. No foam, no spirit and no effect of the chemical properties for good mood and strength.

After the chocolate, water, peppers, and any other ingredients were heated, the beverage was placed into a cup and foamed with a carved wooden stir stick called a molinillo.This utensil was spun between the palms of the hands in order to froth the chocolate into a head of foam. This technique is still used in Mexico today, where the molinillo is as manadotry to the kitchen as is the rolling pin and wooden spoon.

Today's Foamy Hot Chocolate

INGREDIENTS

• 4 ounces in squares of Mexican chocolate (in the global foods aisle at the market)
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup hot water (hot before you add it to the pan)
• A pinch of salt 1 tsp instant coffee
• 2 Cups whole milk
• 1 egg
• ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 dried red chilie pepper, whole
• Ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a saucepan over medium to medium-low heat, place chocolate, honey, hot water, salt, coffee, and red pepper.
• Heat and stir continually until beverage just begins to form tiny boiling bubbles at the edges.
• Reduce heat immediately to low and simmer while stirring 1 minute.
• Slowly add and stir the milk in completely while over heat.
• Allow beverage to stand on low heat until chocolate is too hot touch with your fingertip or you see steam rising.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the egg until it’s as frothy as possible.
• Quickly add vanilla to egg and beat quickly.
• Pour chocolate over egg and beat 15 seconds to create more foam.
• Pour into mugs and top with cinnamon.

If you are in more of a hurry and need to have dry hot chocolate mix on hand, try this recipe for a mix that is often gifted in Tupperware® and other plastic food containers during a variety of holidays and special occasions.

Austrian Mocha Expresso

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup instant coffee  2.5 Cups powdered milk 1/2 Cup sugar  1/4 Cup cocoa powder

Mix well and store in a labeled container. 

To serve, add two teaspoons or more to taste to a cup of steaming hot water.  This blend is so delicious and smooth that people linger over it for hours.    It's especially relaxing and refreshing, and so satisfying.