Triple-Spiced Hot Chocolate
Good day, weary traveller. It’s certainly getting chillier out there this time of year. Here where the Arcane Inn and Tavern is, we’ve already been getting our fair share of snowstorms and chilly days, let alone the freezing nights. However, we here at the Arcane Inn and Tavern also have just the perfect thing to combat the cold and warm your soul in these darkening days.
Our local barista has recently prepared a recipe for a hot chocolate that is sure to warm you right up. He combines the warm heat of Mexican hot chocolate, the subtle warmth of a chai black tea blend, and a few simple spices in a spiced soft cream to guarantee any soul who enjoys a nice hot chocolate will feel warm and fuzzy after such an experience.
We sincerely hope that if you’re a hot chocolate lover, you’ll give this drink a try and let us know your thoughts.
Triple-Spiced Hot Chocolate
2 mugfuls of milk of your choice
1 bag of chai black tea blend (or, 1 serving of loose leaf tea mixed with your favorite chai spices if you don’t use tea bags)
16 ounces of a chocolate of your choice, chopped (we used 70% cacao dark chocolate for ours, but feel free to use whatever you like)
6 tablespoons of your favorite Mexican hot chocolate blend
2 teaspoons of brown sugar (can be substituted for regular sugar)
3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
A splash of vanilla (for the soft cream)
A plain whipped cream for the peak (your favorite recipe or product works)
Sprinklings of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove (to your contentment)
White sugar, adding enough to get a soft consistency to the cream
Nutmeg and grated chocolate, for topping
Start by warming up your milk on a stovetop on a medium low to medium setting. You can either wait for the milk to come up to temperature before adding your tea blend, or you can do as the barista at the Arcane Inn and Tavern does and add the tea blend as soon as possible, allowing the milk to warm and the tea to steep while other ingredients are prepared. NOTE: Do not let the milk come past a light simmer. Feel free to fluctuate your heat up or down if needed so the milk remains on heat but does not boil.
Once the tea has steeped to your liking, remove it from the milk and add in your chopped chocolate of choice. Allow it to sit and soften for a moment in the hot milk, then whisk until there are no visible clumps of chocolate that remain.
Add in your Mexican hot chocolate blend and brown sugar, and whisk again. NOTE: Don’t add in the vanilla now, as you should wait until your other components are prepared. Otherwise, some of the vanilla flavor will be lost to the heat.
To prepare the spiced soft cream: Start by adding the vanilla and spices to the heavy cream. Using a whisk or a milk frothier, begin mixing until all of the ingredients are combined and the cream has started to thicken, but isn’t quite there yet. Start adding in sugar in small additions and continue to whisk in air until you can create figure-8s that hold when you remove your mixing tool of choice upon the surface.
Grate your topping chocolate, and have the soft cream, stiff whipped cream of your choosing, and ground nutmeg ready to go.
Stir in the vanilla extract into the hot chocolate, making sure to whisk until adequately combined.
To assemble: Ladle your hot chocolate into a mug until approximately 3/4s of the mug is full. Then, spoon in some of your soft cream, smoothing it around to ‘cap’ the hot chocolate, or in other words so it resembles a soft foam on top. Add a swirl or dollop of the whipped cream of your choice. Garnish with the nutmeg and grated chocolate.
This recipe serves 2 people, so do feel free to share this with someone you care about.
