I have a confession. I prefer semi-sweet chocolate to dark chocolate. There, I said it. I am usually frowned upon in a room of chocolatiers, but in my opinion chocolate beyond 66 per cent cocoa is only great for showcasing snob values rather than for indulging. If the chocolate is very high in cocoa content, it satiates your palate quickly. The sugars actually help your palate pick up a bunch of subtle profiles which are usually lost to dominant astringent overtones of very dark chocolate. If anything, I would actually be happy to sprinkle an ever-so-small amount of salt on my bar of semi-sweet chocolate and revel in the indulgence. Salt makes an already divine indulgence, well…. Epic! Remember, it’s all about finishing that bar of chocolate and not feeding the fridge. Which brings us to the hot chocolate. There are so many different ways of making hot chocolate and no way is necessarily better than the other. So I am going to show you three different but great ways of making hot chocolate.
Drinking Chocolate Mix: This isn’t a highbrow solution, but is so easy that you can make it in your office pantry and still be satisfied with the results. Special Tools: Protein shaker bottle, a long spoon. Ingredients: 4 tbsp hot chocolate mix, preferably something with malt in it. Don’t tell anyone, but my guilty pleasure is Milo. 100 ml hot strong black coffee, 100 ml hot whole fat milk
Put the chocolate mix into the shaker. Add hot coffee. Stir till it mixes through and looks like a thick syrupy liquid. It won’t lump up because these mixes usually have anti-caking agents. Then pour hot milk into the shaker.
Close the lid and shake hard thrice. Open the lid and let some of the steam escape, else the shaker might pop because of built-up pressure. Repeat. This makes the hot chocolate frothy, warm and indulgent.
Now pour this into a warm cup and enjoy.
No, you cannot drink it from your shaker.
Espresso Machine Technique: This is becoming an increasingly popular kitchen gadget in people’s homes. It also happens to be my favourite method. Special Tools: Espresso machine with a steam wand and a steaming jug. Ingredients: 50 gm of up to 70 per cent dark chocolate,15 gm of milk chocolate, a pinch of salt, 100 ml heavy cream, 2 cubes of ice (You read that right: ice cubes in hot chocolate)
Melt the chocolate and cream in whatever way you prefer. Microwave if you are smart, Bain Marie if you think you’re French. Pour all the contents into a steaming jug. Run the steam on full till you start seeing a nice velvety, frothy and hot chocolate being formed. You can add a shot of espresso if you want a more intense hot chocolate.
If you were wondering about the ice cubes… That’s what causes steam and creates the smooth foam, else the cream and chocolate will heat but not expand to create a foam.
Microwave or Stove Top method: This is simple but really effective. It produces an extremely rich hot chocolate that even a few sips can satiate your chocolate cravings. This is also the best way to introduce spices to your hot chocolate: the previous method generates wet steam which causes the spices to lump up in the steam jug and the first method has already has coffee, so the spices might be lost in the mix. Special Tools: Either microwave or stove with a heavy bottom deep pan. Ingredients: 150 ml chocolate ganache (This, in my case, is made by melting equal parts chocolate and cream), 50 ml whole milk, a pinch of salt, a pinch of chilli powder, a pinch of nutmeg
Heat everything together in a microwave for 60 seconds or on a pan over a stove on low heat but stir constantly so it doesn’t form any milk skin.
Once it’s hot enough, pour into a cup from a comfortable height so that it can aerate as it fills the cup, creating a super rich chocolate drinking experience where all the spices are just present to warm the back of your throat rather than burn your tongue.
Sandesh Reddy runs Sandy's, GoGo Ramen and a gastropub called Social in Chennai.