Can we say AU Chocolat Chaud “Hot Chocolate”!
When made with the right ingredients and done the “Parisian” way.
A cup of hot chocolate is an exceptional experience to be had…if you ever visit Paris, France that is!
What’s so special? Well, it is served thick and made with real chocolate and milk (unlike the powdered
watered down version you may have experienced in my part of the world…North America).
After all, it is still the winter season here and if it’s not the winter season in your area…If you love Chocolate, then you will love this recipe anytime of the year!
It is a super easy recipe and delicious, but before we get there; I am going to take you on another trip.
Where does Chocolate come from? We found out this answer on the island of Grenada,
when the family had a tour of a chocolate factory.
A small informative lesson is needed as I have posted pics of the process, and as much as
I would like to leave it at that, I am told that blogs need content and it’s all about the content…yes,yes,yes.
Trust me this will be short and sweet (short like me and sweet like chocolate).
Remember…it’s really more about the visuals here in my blog world.
Cocao comes from the tree called “Theobroma (Greek for “food of the gods”) Cocao”. No I am not taking you to Greece now, maybe in the future I sure would love to go again ( o.k. side tracking, stay focused on blog at hand).
Cocoa pods are harvested twice a year. The beans are white in colour and have a sticky pulp. They get placed in wooden bins and covered with banana leaves.
The cocao beans are then left to ferment, and this process can take a few days or up to a week, depending on the quality of the beans.
The heat created in the fermentation process takes the bitterness out of the beans and makes them more edible because they start to taste like chocolate. The cocao beans are then placed in the sun for about a week to sweeten and dry up.
They get stirred around by walking on them and swooshing them around with your feet (kids had fun with this…just hope those beans got a good rinse afterwards).
Now back to the…
“Make Hot Chocolate Parisian Style, Recipe”
2 cups (16 0z) whole organic milk
5 ounces (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, (best quality fair trade organic)
Option to use 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar, or organic cane sugar (if you use real bitter sweet chocolate). If you use chocolate with sugar in it you will not need to add more sugar.
- Heat the milk in a medium- sized saucepan.
- When milk is warmed up, you can add chocolate pieces into it. Make sure to keep whisking until all chocolate is melted and steaming hot. You can achieve the thick consistency by whisking constantly for about 3 minutes at a very low boil.
- When ready, pour into a demitasse cup ( this recipe should yield 4 servings , but of course I used a large cup I’m in North America).
- Add a little sprinkle of “fleur de sel” for a little touch of saltiness.
You may have asked yourself… was this a Travel Blog? or a Recipe Blog?
I would say both, I took you somewhere with my pics and gave you a recipe, so now you can
Sit, Sip, & Enjoy slowly!…
after you make your “Chocolat Au Chaud”!…or maybe it is” a learn a new language blog ?” ; )