What’s the meaning of life and more importantly does that involve chocolate? Let’s find it out while making a cup of tasty hot chocolate!

Those who are lucky enough to be born into a world where they don’t need to be afraid of tigers -as they are ruled out of cities- can enjoy the life that has been given to us with all the goodies in them from nuts, fruits, BBQ and especially chocolate.

If someone had the chance to taste original hot chocolate, probably would overthink the meaning of life though.

Firstly, because many of us handles disappointments as personal failures and struggle to overcome them quite badly.

When we think of hot chocolate, we think of sweet creamy sugary drink sipped in sitting comfortably on an armchair by the fire in a cozy afternoon. This idyll can be heightened by the lights of an ongoing fireplace in the living room or in lack of that the rush of shoppers hurrying on with their last minute purchases on the other side of the café shop’s window.

But if we have met the original hot chocolate that was made before the Dutch discovered how to separate cocoa from the cocoa butter, or someone (Sir Hans Sloane) had the great idea of adding milk to it, our daydreams couldn’t reach such heights with it.

Secondly, simply because hot chocolate just tastes bad and we would wonder how on Earth this thing became so popular across people with active taste buds at all. It seems though that nature has its back doors to edible food called acquired taste. This versatility of ours makes it possible not just to accept something seemingly bad as food but develop appreciation for it and find joy in it like it’s the case with some cheese, alcohol, Marmite and a couple of thousand years ago chocolate too.

Since the Spanish brought chocolate out of the Paradise, it made quite and advancement from its primitive roots. It turned into something more civilized, more refined self that still carries its original roots but at the same time very distinct from it.

As much as chocolate will never understand why it was taken out of the Paradise and came to be what it is today, we will always have unanswered questions all around us. Luckily though, even those who are only equipped with innate taste can spend their time thinking about them accompanied by a steaming cup of hot chocolate in a cozy armchair.

Ingredients

Basic

3½oz / 100g Chocolate
2 cups / 500ml Milk
¼ teaspoon Vanilla extract (optional)

Advanced

4oz / 100g Chocolate
2 cups / 500ml Milk
¼ teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 Egg yolk or 1 tablespoon of corn starch

Overkill

1 tablespoon / 15g Butter
1 Cinnamon stick
1 dried Chili
4oz / 100g Chocolate
2 cups / 500ml Milk
¼ teaspoon Vanilla extract or 1 vanilla pod (optional)
1 Egg yolk or 1 tablespoon of corn starch

How to make hot chocolate

Basic

Heat chocolate and milk in a saucepan while stirring frequently.
Mix in vanilla.

Enjoy!

Advanced

Heat chocolate and milk in a saucepan while stirring frequently.
Mix in vanilla.
Whisk egg yolk until light yellow.
Take out a ½ cup of hot milk and mix it with the egg yolk. In case of corn starch do the same.
Now is the hard bit. Pour back the warmed egg yolk or corn starch mixture into the 144°F – 158°F / 62°C – 69°C milk while stirring continuously.
Keep the milk between 144°F – 158°F / 62°C – 69°C and keep stirring the egged milk. It should thicken soon. If it doesn’t thicken it means the milk is either too hot or too cold. If bits of eggs start to appear or the mixture starts boiling it definitely means it’s too hot. The safest bet without a temperature meter is to warm the milk on low heat while stirring continuously and waiting for the miracle to happen.

Enjoy!

Overkill

Sear cinnamon stick and chili on butter until one side gets some burnt color. It shouldn’t take longer than a 2 minutes.
Add vanilla, chocolate.
Pour in the milk then bring it to a gentle simmer while stirring frequently.
Once the milk starts to boil take it off the heat and let the ingredients seep for 10 minutes then take the chili and cinnamon stick out.
Whisk egg yolk until light yellow.
Take out a ½ cup of hot milk and mix it with the egg yolk. In case of corn starch do the same.
Put the milk back onto the heat and stir in the warmed egg yolk or corn starch mixture into the 144°F – 158°F / 62°C – 69°C milk.
Keep the milk between 144°F – 158°F / 62°C – 69°C and keep stirring the egged milk. It should thicken soon. If it doesn’t thicken it means the milk is either too hot or too cold. If bits of eggs start to appear or the mixture starts boiling it definitely means it’s too hot. The safest bet without a temperature meter is to warm the milk on low heat while stirring continuously and waiting for the miracle to happen.