Oh, to be fifteen again. Yesterday I had this conversation with Timothy:
“Hey Celia, I’m glad you rang. I’ve just asked dad to take me to your house!”
“Have you, Tim? That’s nice, why are you coming over?”
“Well, firstly because we’ve run out of hot chocolate, but also because I wanted to see you guys…”
It was delivered with so much charm and genuine affection that there was nothing I could do but get up early this morning to make him an extra-large batch (they’re on their way over now – the Boy Wonder can’t cope without his daily fix).
We’ve been making this recipe for years and Small Man has a mug every night before bed. Inspired by an old Epicurious recipe, we make it with a mix of Belgian chocolate and Dutch cocoa, which is extravagant but oh-so-worth it. Because it includes finely ground chocolate rather than just cocoa, you’ll need to either heat the milk in a small saucepan and whisk the mix in, or buy a little whizzy gadget for a few dollars to ensure that it dissolves properly. Trust me, it’s worth the extra effort!
Callebaut chocolate is our “house” brand and works particularly well because it comes in callet form, which makes the grinding process a lot easier. Whichever chocolate you choose to use, please hunt out the best you can afford – there isn’t a lot to this mix, so you really can taste every ingredient.
- 2 cups white sugar (granulated)
- ½ vanilla bean – scrape the seeds out (optional)
- 12oz (340g) Callebaut 56% dark (semisweet) chocolate (sometimes I’ll use some 70% in this mix as well)
- 4oz (115g) Callebaut milk chocolate
- 1 cup Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder (we use Callebaut, but apparently Droste is very good as well)
1. In the bowl of a really large food processor, grind the dark and milk chocolates until finely ground (do this by pulsing the processor in short bursts – you don’t want to melt the chocolate).
2. Add white sugar, cocoa powder and the scraped out vanilla seeds (if using) and process some more. If your machine is too small, you can tip the chocolate into a large mixing bowl and stir the other ingredients in with a whisk.
The original recipe specified ¼ to 1/3 cup of mix to each cup of milk, but we use much less than that – about two heaped dessertspoons per cup.
Using the quantities above, you’ll end up with just over a kilo (about 21/4 lb) of hot chocolate mix. It makes a fantastic Christmas present!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Hi Celia! This recipe sounds great, and I’m planning to make some up for Christmas presents (possibly with some home-made marshmallows if I’m feeling really adventurous!). How long do you think it will keep for? I’m trying to decide how far in advance I can get away with making it. I suppose, logically, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t keep as long as the original chocolate would have. I feel I may have to make up a mini-batch for myself for, ahem, quality-control purposes!
Warm regards
Julia
(Approximately 30 minutes later…)
Well, I just made up a test batch, using 100g chocolate, so roughly a quarter of the full amount, and it is absolutely delicious! Gorgeous, creamy texture and rich flavour. We don’t seem to have (or I’ve never come across) semi-sweet chocolate in the UK, so I used a 50:50 mix of 70% dark and 30% milk, and it is very yummy indeed. I’ll definitely be making this up in bulk for Christmas pressies – thanks again!
Julia, I’m glad you liked it! I make it in batches every couple of months or so – Small Man has a mug every night before bed. It keeps for ages in an airtight container – the only problem is that it can get little clumpy, so you might need to break it up with a spoon before you portion it out to give it away. One tip – don’t vacuum seal it – I tried that once, and it all squeezed together and formed a rock, which was then hard to break up again!
Re the semi sweet chocolate – see if you can find a source of Callebaut 811, which is 54% cocoa. Although the 70% dark and 30% milk sound delicious – your own original blend.. :)
One last thing – if you do make it in bulk, still process it up in small batches. Large batches take longer to make, and the chocolate can melt a little if you try to put too much in the food processor at the one time. And I’ve never tried making marshmallows – are they hard?
Cheers, Celia
Celia, I’ve never actually made marshmallows, but the recipe I’ve been looking at comes from BrowniePoints:
http://www.browniepointsblog.com/2006/04/15/basic-vanilla-marshmallows/
McAuliflower has a great pdf. of the basic recipe, and it seems fairly straightforwards, and then you can stir in all sorts of flavours and colours. I think a jar of hot chocolate mix and a bag of marshmallows would be a great present!
It’s good to know the chocolate keeps well. That means I can make it up now, and have more time for the perishable stuff like truffles closer to the Big Day – thanks! I have been trying to track down a good source for buying Callebaut in smallish quantities in the UK – I wonder if any other readers know of anywhere?
Warm regards, Julia
Julia, thanks for the marshmallow link and I hope someone in the UK can give you a headsup on the Callebaut.
I found this place on Google, if it helps (obviously I’ve never bought from them, though! :)):
Chocolate Fountain Warehouse
Celia, I just wanted to say thanks again for the link above. I finally got around to ordering a sack of Callebaut 811, and it’s great! It will save me a fortune as it’s far less expensive than buying Lindt or Green & Blacks by the bar. It is very dangerous though, as now I’ll always have chocolate in the house with which to bake :o)
Still loving your blog, keep up the fantastic work!
Springtime best wishes from the UK
Julia
Oh that’s great, Julia! It’s disgraceful how much Callebaut we get through in our house… :)
Cheers, Celia
My Mom used to make it for me… you know what she did also? not always, but sometimes, she would beat some egg whites, add sugar, make a soft meringue and drop a dollop on top of the chocolate
I know, I know… rag eggs
Brazil, in those days, not a danger in the horizon, just pure pleasure
Thanks for the unexpected flash back! :-)
Great story, Sally! Back in the days when everyone was less afeared of raw eggs… :)