How far would you go to have
something you crave, no, love? To the next town or three over? What about going
to the nearest big city or, even bigger, another country?
My love is for hot chocolate and I
will go wherever I must. One cup of something new, thick and brown will do me
and make the journey there worthwhile. I’ve tried the wicked sweet stuff in
foreign to me countries and across the US. It’s all good and not one cup is the
same.
I’ve mentioned before the fun hunt I
made in Paris, trying them in Belgium, Italy and England, as well as from New
York City to LA. They were all good, great, fantastic, and I’d recommend any of
the places we went to whoever asked. I’ll give shop names, addresses, closet train
or tube stations, whatever helps you get to the table. However, what I haven’t
done is share what has been my all time favorite until now - the Righteous
Perverts get that big revelation.
One of the best cups of hot chocolate
I’ve been lucky enough to try so far was found in Amsterdam … De Bakkerswinkel.
The offering doesn’t come in a
traditional cup but a glass, a tall one and you need the long spoon that comes
with it. Funny enough, the glass offers a conundrum of sorts. The hot milk
radiates heat making the glass and metal spoon too hot to hold onto, but you
must. At the bottom of the glass are chunks of chocolate and toffee, spices and
more delightful treats that must be stirred until it all melts and makes a delightful
glass of hot chocolate, but how to stir with all the heat.
How to make the magic happen is a
unique process, but I’m going to share the secret with you. Using the long spoon, I stirred it up and then set it
aside to cool down before repeating the process. Keep repeating until the
hot chocolate has a frothy top and is at a drinking temp. So, how did I figure
this out? The older gentleman we spoke
with at our communal table helped me out and explaining the science of it all
at the same time.
The setting helped make
this a wonderful experience, but this was truly the best cup, no, glass of hot
chocolate I’ve had to date. Now, is it possible to make a cup of hot chocolate made at home just as
exciting? Absolutely! Here are a few simple tips:
1. Use milk instead of water, whisk it in the
pan [or purchase a mini café frother] and whip it up before pouring into your
warmed cup [swish a little hot water inside before pouring the good stuff]. Also,
this may sound odd, but a spoonful of butter melted into the milk adds
something special to the party.
2. Add a small square of a chocolate bar in the
bottom of your warmed cup and let the hot chocolate melt and mix in to bring
the chocolate yumminess bar up even higher.
3. Whether you add mini marshmallows or whipped
cream, save a little bit of the chocolate powder to sprinkle on top -
presentation is just as important to the experience.
In the end, no matter
how you go about it, a cup of hot chocolate is a delicious treat so make it a
special moment! Now, I’ve shared my sweet love for hot chocolate, what do you
take a quiet moment to enjoy? I have a
canvas bag of goodies and one chocolate treat with zero, yes, ZERO calories to
give away! You have through February 9th to share.
Thanks you Oh
Righteous Perverts for having me, I shall see you on March 12th for
a chat!
Tilly Greene
Scorching romances full
of twists, turns and ties.
I am so craving some good hot chocolate now. When I go to the local Starbucks I always have them add extra peppermint. There is nothing better than sitting on a cold day reading and drinking peppermint hot chocolate. I see this in my future for the weekend. Thank you Tilly for reminding me how good the simplest things are
ReplyDeleteI love this. I'm going to try making it at home. I usually can't order hot chocolate because I'm lactose intolerant, but with this, I can use my lactose-free milk. I'm so excited, I can't wait to try it. It's cold today and this is right on time.
ReplyDeleteHot chocolate is the bestest. Thanks for sharing Tilly
ReplyDeleteOh, my addy would help ... it's tilly@tillygreene.com :-)
DeleteThank you thank you thank you. I love chocolate so this is awesome
DeleteI put some peppermint flakes (broken candy canes) on top of mine, Tina, it was divine! Thank you, Purity, and I'm so glad you've found a way to indulge this simple yet decadent treat :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome Cherie!
ReplyDeleteCongrats Cherie! My cutie picked your name out of the bowl! Send me your mailing addy and I'll get the bag sent to you. Thanks guys for entering :-)
ReplyDeleteWow that is so cool. I live internationally if this makes it hard for you please give it to Tina or Purity. But yay Cutie thank you so much
Delete