Drown your holiday sorrows in liquid chocolate and vanilla coffee whipped cream.
INGREDIENTS
HOT CHOCOLATE
260g (approx 10oz) 70% dark chocolate
400ml whole milk
100ml heavy cream
25g powdered sugar, adjust to taste
2.5g instant espresso
1g whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Splash of vanilla extract
WHIPPED CREAM
125ml heavy cream
10g powdered sugar, adjust to taste
.5g instant espresso
Splash of vanilla extract
Orange zest for garnish
BUILD
I prefer to use a minimum of 70% dark chocolate in this recipe but you can go darker or lighter if you prefer.
Roughly chop the chocolate into small chunks. Create an easily-removable spice bundle by adding your cloves and cinnamon stick to a tea bag.
In a saucepan on medium heat, add whole milk, heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, instant espresso. Stir to combine. Add your spice sachet of cinnamon and cloves. Gently stir the liquid as it heats, keeping it just under a simmer. When you start to see small bubbles form around the edges of the pot, remove the spice sachet and add the chopped hot chocolate while continuing to stir. Once all the chocolate is added, it will take between 4-5 minutes to fully melt and smooth out. If the mixture begins to bubble, remove it from heat and continue stirring for a minute before returning it to the low heat.
Once the hot chocolate has thickened and fully smoothed out, you can remove it from the heat and serve immediately. This recipe makes 2-3 servings.
In a bowl, combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar, instant espresso, and vanilla extract. Whip and aerate the mixture together until the whipped cream is fluffy. I prefer to stop whipping right before stiff peaks form, you want a slightly softer whipped cream for this drink.
Spoon a heavy dollop on top of your hot chocolate and garnish with orange zest.
