When I closed my eyes and took a sip out of this cup, I sighed, actually sighed, aloud. You know how cakes and chocolates are advertised as ‘decadent’? Well THIS was more than that; worse than that even; and better than that; it was positively depraved. The rich, thick, smooth, creamy, soft, chocolatey concoction was pure wickedness; it was indulgence, irresponsibility, a sense of loosing oneself and a wanton disregard for common sense and moderation, all swirled together into one little cup.
And as if all that wasn’t enough, I paired it with a little chocolate truffle!
And yet, I was somehow not satisfied (this proves my argument that the hot chocolate really was evil and powerful (I mean we all know that I am a goddess of self-control and moderation (reflected as much in my eating habits as my use of language and parentheses), generally speaking, so it had to be some sort of dark magic that the chocolate wielded))! And so I sneaked over to my freezer, pulled out one of my frozen chocolate chip cookie dough portions and popped it into the oven. Eight minutes later, I added this to my little afternoon snack:
Yes, yes, there is a pie-sliced bit of cookie missing; but it is a long and arduous journey from my kitchen to my dining table, filled with many perils.
The long and short of it was that I spent the next 10 minutes ooohing and aahing and moaning, and being general inappropriate, while I sipped the chocolate and ate the cookie. But then again, wouldn’t you do the same before a spectacle such as this?
At the end of it however, I was happy, relaxed and more energetic all at once, and ready to go back to work on my thesis here i am gleefully typing away about it.
If you’d like to try this at home, here’s what you need:
60-75 g of dark chocolate (ideally 60% cocoa content)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon brown sugar
A pinch of ground nutmeg
A pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
A stick of cinnamon
A chocolate truffle (go here for a collection of my chocolate truffle recipes)
A cookie (go here for my recipe)
Method:
Start off by throwing the chocolate into a little saucepan. Add the milk and turn on the heat to low. Using a whisk keep whipping the chocolate into the milk as it melts. Be carefully not to burn the chocolate.
Once it’s all melted and the mixture becomes thick and chocolatey, add the salt, sugar, nutmeg powder and coffee and whip it all up some more. When everything is blended, pour the mixture into a little cup. Top off with whipped cream if you like. Place the cinnamon stick in the chocolate to use as a stirrer, and serve with a truffle and/or cookie, and a good book 🙂
Oh and make sure to leave your computer somewhere where it won’t bother you, so you can focus on all the delightfulness before you.
The Life and Times of Choconutmeg 