Hot Cocoa After a Cold, Snowy Day

We had so much fun playing in the snow today. I've been pretty much house-bound since Thursday afternoon. We were supposed to get a lot on Wednesday night, but when we woke the next morning, the ground hadn't a speck of white. By Thursday afternoon, though, the snow was slowly beginning to roll in. By Friday morning, I couldn't see any of the roads around the house. It continued to snow all day Friday and then again today. We got out in it this afternoon, finally, to make home videos, gather snow for snow cream, have a snowball fight, and make snow angels.

When we got inside, we peeled off outer layers of wet clothes and tried to get warm. What better way than to have a mug of real hot cocoa? I had the basics, but I needed a good recipe. I browsed around on the internet and found a website devoted to rediscovering true hot chocolate -- not the kind in the powder packet, but the kind made of actual chocolate and milk and sugar. There is a plethora of recipes on Linda Stradley's site What's Cooking America. I chose to make the hot chocolate reportedly served at the Angelina Cafe in Paris. I also found similar recipes on other sites, including Chowhound. I added sugar, because I wasn't sure it would be sweet enough for a kid (and for me!)

Angelina Café's Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate:
6 ounces fine-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used some leftover Nestle chocolate bits that I chopped up a bit)
1/4 cup water, room temperature
3 tablespoons hot water
3 cups milk
1/4 c sugar

In double boiler over low heat, combine chocolate and 1/4 c water until melted, stirring until smooth. (You can also boil less than half a small saucepan full of water and fit a metal bowl over the pot, so that the bottom doesn't touch the water. Bring water to a boil. Melt the chocolate & 1/4 c water in bowl over boiling water in saucepan.)

Remove top of double boiler pan (or the metal bowl) from heat. Whisk in 3 tablespoons hot water.

Set chocolate aside and warm 3 c milk in a separate saucepan. Add 1/4 c sugar to milk as it heats and stir occasionally or until dissolved. When almost to simmering point, whisk in chocolate mixture. Leave over low heat while making whipped cream.

Whipped Cream:
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
1 T sugar

Add sugar to whipping cream. Beat with hand mixer until soft peaks form.

Serve hot chocolate/milk mixture in mugs and top with whipped cream.

Makes approximately 4 servings.