Hot Chocolate Mix
As I start to contemplate the “finish line”, I realize that life is too short to tolerate crap of any kind. Why did I ruin my feet with the flip flops of my youth? Why didn’t I start using expensive eye creams at the same time I started a retirement savings plan? Why did I wait to watch movies on video instead of in the cinema? Why did I wait for the paperback version of the book I wanted to read? Ugh. No more! I will spend good money on sensible, ethical, classic, well-made clothing. Now I stay warm in cashmere, not fleece. (That is a dirty lie, actually. I am wearing a leopard print fleece onesie at this very moment and I will continue to do so all winter long. It wasn’t, mind you, a cheap onesie.) I’ll pay extra for better seats at the theatre. Several years ago, after a miserable week at a cheap all-inclusive in Cuba, I decided that next time I would pay $100 a day more just for good food. I am fussier now about food than I used to be. Not grumpier or more difficult to please, not finicky or more picky. I just want all my food to be delicious. Always. If I’m going to have French fries, they’re going to be the thick-cut and triple-cooked homemade kind, not the soggy and mealy fries you get from a drive-thru window. When I have cereal, it’s homemade granola not Cap’n Crunch. If I’m going to have chocolate, I won’t waste the calories on a KitKat. And speaking of chocolate, I reject the watery, chocolate-coloured swill that most establishments call “hot chocolate”. Now I make my own. This recipe comes from J. Kenzie Lopez-Alt’s “The Food Lab”. With all the money that you will save by making your own hot chocolate mix, you will have enough money to buy the book too. Highly recommended.
I make a couple of batches at Christmastime to give away to friends and put in my kids’ stockings. I use 250 ml jam jars, not quite filled, and topped with mini marshmallows. A great teacher present too.
- 8 oz very good quality (of course!) semi-sweet chocolate
- 1 cup very good quality (of course!) cocoa
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- chop chocolate into small chunks (bigger than chocolate chips is fine)
- freeze chocolate until completely frozen (about 10 minutes)
- put all ingredients in a food processor and process to a fine powder (about 1 minute)
- transfer to an airtight container and store in cool, dry place for up to 3 months (ha!)
- add 2 generous tablespoons of the mixture to one cup of very hot milk and stir until combined
- to thicken further, return pan to heat and simmer 30 seconds until thick and smooth
