1747 Spiced Hot Chocolate

• doses: 6 small cups

Ingredientes

2/3 cup (135 g) sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, more or less to your taste

2 cups (200 g) cocoa nibs*

2 cups milk

Instruções

Whisk together the sugar, spices, and vanilla bean to combine. If you're using vanilla extract, add it in the next step. Whisk in the cocoa nibs.

Put the cocoa nib mixture and the vanilla extract if you're using it in a blender or food processor and blend it up. This will crush the cocoa nibs and melt the cocoa butter in them, eventually turning it into a liquid or paste. Give your blender breaks if it starts to overheat. It took me a total of 15 to 20 minutes of blending. You could do this in a mortar and pestle, but it would take forever. I ground just a small amount of cocoa nibs for about 20 minutes and it wasn’t anywhere near where it needed to be.

If you’re not using it right away, form it into a cake, wrap it well, and set it in the fridge to harden. If your cocoa nibs have formed a liquid, pour it into a plastic wrap or parchment-lined bowl to harden.

Take the hardened chocolate out of the container. Chop the desired amount into small pieces. How much you use will depend on how chocolatey you want your hot chocolate.

Heat the milk in a pot until it simmers. When the milk simmers, add the chopped chocolate and whisk vigorously. You want to mix in the chocolate, but also create some froth. You could also use a molinillo to create froth if you have one.

Pour the hot chocolate into fancy cups (small ones are best because it's so rich), and serve it forth.

Notas

YouTube video at https://youtu.be/mRMCgE39e3E