It’s cold in New York this week. Really cold. Cocoa weather. Ironically, I learned to make good cocoa in sunny California. During my first year in law school at Berkeley, I rented rooms from a wonderfully eccentric Dutch artist. One rare chilly day when I was hunkered down studying for my exams, she taught me how to make a proper cup of Dutch cocoa.
Before that, I had been indifferent to cocoa. The little I had drunk was mostly from the Swiss Miss school –thin, overly sweet instant stuff with many a freeze-dried marshmallow. And since then I’ve tried lots of hot chocolate from gourmet chocolatiers and upscale coffee shops, but I keep coming back to this recipe. It’s creamy and deeply chocolatey, but not too rich or overpoweringly sweet.
There are two key ingredients. The first is Dutch process cocoa powder, which is treated with an alkali that mellows raw chocolate’s natural acidity and deepens its flavor. The second is a pinch of salt, which nicely rounds out the drink’s flavors.
Recipe
Ingredients
2 teaspoons of unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder. I like Droste, available in the baking section of good supermarkets.
2 teaspoons of sugar (or a little more if you like it sweeter)
8 ounces of whole milk
a pinch of salt
Instructions
1. Measure the cocoa, sugar and salt into a mug or a small pitcher.
2. Add a little milk and stir with a small whisk or a spoon until all of the cocoa is incorporated into a smooth paste. (A beverage whisk isn’t necessary, but it accomplishes this very efficiently. They’re available at kitchen supply stores for just a few dollars.)
3. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and bring just to the boil over medium-high heat.
4. Pour the hot milk into the cocoa paste and whisk until smooth and frothy. (Again, a whisk isn’t necessary, but it will make the drink frothier.)
Drink immediately. For a more luxurious beverage, top with a dollop of whipped cream.
