Spicy Hot Chocolate

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After an exhilarating day on the ski slopes or a tough workout freeing the sidewalk of snow, what better reward is there than a mug of steaming, frothy hot chocolate?

Indeed, it was chocolate's invigorating, restorative qualities that Spanish explorers in Central America noted in accounts sent home about the strange beverage. It certainly wasn't the pleasing taste, for chocolate as the Europeans found it was bitter, often flavored with chili and other spices.

Inscriptions show the Mayans of the first millennium had drunk chocolate, pouring it high from jars to create a froth. Our modern name is of obscure origin, but it is believed to come from a Mayan word, chocol, meaning "hot" and the Nahuatl atl, meaing "water."

By the late sixteenth century, chocolate from the New World was becoming popular in Spain. Unsweetened and somewhat harsh, it was first prescribed as a medicine, a reviving tonic good for the spleen.

Delicious but dangerous was its reputation at the court of Louis XIV. From Spain around 1680, Madame de Villars wrote to a friend in France of a wonderful discovery: "I am staying with my chocolate diet; to it alone I believe I owe my health. But I don't use it like a madwoman and without precaution. ... It is, however, delicious."

Sugar, not spice, was the key to the success of chocolate. To preserve the roasted beans, traders ground and mixed them with sugar syrup to sell as pastilles. Now a palatable candy and the basis of a zesty drink, chocolate hit the money. Gentlemen quaffed their chocolate in the new cafes and coffeehouses that were spreading throughout Europe. Ladies sipped their breakfast chocolate poured from pot-bellied silver chocolate pots designed specially for the purpose.

Sudden fashions in food can fade just as fast, but chocolate had two properties going for it: its caffeine content and the lush richness of its cocoa butter. Right from the beginning, Spanish cooks had picked up the Mexican habit of adding a spoonful of ground cocoa beans to their rich, dark stews. With sugar added, chocolate gradually became the flavor of choice for decadent desserts. Chocolate was found to have an affinity for dairy, for milk, cream, and eggs. By the end of the eighteenth century, every new cookbook had its share of creams, mousses, and ice creams, with souffles and tarts a later development.

Chocolate was still full of fat, but in 1828, a Dutchman called van Houten patented a process for extracting most of the cocoa butter, leaving the powdery cocoa. Our familiar chocolate products had arrived: cocoa powder (no sugar); powdered chocolate (sweetened cocoa); unsweetened (bitter) block chocolate; a huge range of dark to light block chocolates, all sweetened; milk chocolate (an English favorite); and white chocolate, which has a high proportion of cocoa butter.

They all have different uses, but one destination remains unbeatable -- a piping hot, heavenly brew made from a block of the very best dark chocolate you can find.

The recipe for hot chocolate that follows is spiced to recall the early days when chocolate reached Europe from Mexico. Be sure to use really good dark chocolate so that the flavor comes through clearly. To add another historical touch, use a wooden whisk known as a molinillo to froth hot chocolate. These utensils, developed by Spanish colonists in Mexico in the 1700s, can be found in specialty food stores and online.

 

SPICY HOT CHOCOLATE

Serves 2

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream (for serving)

2 cups whole or low-fat milk

5 ounces dark (bittersweet) chocolate, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, more to sprinkle

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to sprinkle

Pinch of salt

Sugar to taste (optional)

 

Whisk cream in a small bowl until thick, and set aside to chill. Warm two mugs.

Whisk milk, chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, cayenne and salt in a small saucepan to mix them.

Bring very slowly to a simmer, whisking constantly so the chocolate melts evenly. Simmer 2-3 minutes, until the chocolate is rich, cooking longer if you like it quite thick. Whisk constantly so foam forms on top. Taste and whisk in sugar if needed. Pour chocolate into warm mug, top with whipped cream and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and cayenne.

 

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Spicy Hot Chocolate - Anne Willan Recipes

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