Saturday, January 11, 2014

Spanish Hot Chocolate Recipe - Chocolate Caliente

User Rating4 Star Rating(5 Reviews)

Lisa Sierra

The Spanish are known to be locos for chocolate, since they “discovered” it in the New World 500 years ago. As in centuries past, today the Spanish drink rich hot chocolate for breakfast, so thick that you can stand achurro in it! If the only hot cocoa you’ve ever had is the kind made with powdered envelopes of mix and hot water, you won’t recognize this incredibly rich and flavorful drink. In fact, once you try the Spanish version of hot chocolate, you might be hooked!

There are two versions below - one that uses baking chocolate and one that uses sweetened chocolate.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 2 Servings or 2 Cups

Spanish Hot Chocolate Recipe - Chocolate Caliente

By Lisa & Tony Sierra

Ingredients:

Sweet Chocolate Version
2 8-ounce cups (250 ml) whole milk
4 ounces (113 gr) milk chocolate
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
Baking Chocolate Version
2 8-ounce (250 ml) cups whole milk
3 ounces=3 squares (93 gr) baking chocolate
1/3-1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Preparation:

With either type of chocolate, the process is almost the same:

Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and add the cornstarch. Whisk to dissolve the cornstarch. Once the cornstarch is dissolved, heat the milk on medium heat just until it boils, then remove from heat. Add the chocolate squares immediately and begin stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. If the milk cools off too fast, place the pan back on the stove on low heat to melt the chocolate.

If you are using baking chocolate, which is unsweetened, pour the sugar into the chocolate milk mixture and stir until thoroughly dissolved.

Place the pan back on the stove on medium low/medium heat, stirring slowly, but constantly. (Do not cook the mixture over high heat because it may cause lumping.) Taste the chocolate for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary. The mixture should thicken quickly. As soon as you see it thicken, remove the pan from the heat so the cornstarch will not thin. Ladle immediately into cups and serve piping hot.

Note: Be sure to use a clean spoon every time you taste the chocolate. Enzymes from your mouth can cause a thickened cornstarch mixture to thin.