Drinkable pudding

We've been home a lot lately. We were snowed in early in the week, and roads cleared just in time for the schools' four-day President's Day weekend break. Plus, it's cold. For someone who considers herself a New Englander, I don't do cold well.

On the bright side, I do hot chocolate well. Usually from a mix. Sometimes I dress it up with leftover candy canes, a dash of cinnamon or some vanilla bean. I've got some intriguing recipes with orange peel. But what I usually long for is the thick sipping chocolate that crops up all the time in Hercule Poirot mysteries, but that doesn't seem to exist on this side of the pond.

Imagine my delight, therefore, when I was organizing recipes last week and came across a printout for something called "Castillian Hot Chocolate" and described as having the consistency of "pudding that didn't quite set." The big difference in this recipe was everyone's favorite thickening agent, cornstarch. Maybe this was what I was looking for.

So, on a snowy, cold day, while Will was out shoveling the driveway for the second time already, I set to work on the superthick cocoa recipe.

The ingredients in this recipe weren't just measured by weight instead of volume, they were in grams and milliliters. (U.S. Customary conversions below.) Fortunately, my kitchen scale switches to and from metric, but unfortunately, it looked like it was weighing in kilograms. No sooner did I get my son Keith to double-check my conversions than I discovered that the scale was, in fact, working in grams. First I weighed out some unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch cocoa would have been ideal, but I ran out) and sugar, then threw them in a saucepan.

Next, I measured some cornstarch into the bowl I used for weighing. It still had a little trace of cocoa powder in it, so when I added in some water to dissolve the cornstarch, it took on a light brown color but I knew it wasn't going to make any difference in the long run.


Once the cornstarch (and trace of cocoa) was dissolved, I poured it into the saucepan with the cocoa and sugar and stirred it into a nice sludgy paste.

Then I gradually whisked in some milk (1 percent, for what it's worth) and stirred frequently while I waited for it to come to a simmer. And waited. And waited. And waited. For a looooong 10 minutes. Or maybe it was 15?

Eventually, the cocoa started rolling in that way that, say, pudding does when you cook it on the stove. All of a sudden it got appreciably glossy and thickened up so much I needed to use a soup ladle to pour it into mugs. Then I topped it with whipped cream, and voila!

THE VERDICT: Definitely a thick sipping chocolate, not unlike a pudding that hasn't quite set. Will said, "You know in 'The Polar Express' where they drink the thick, rich hot chocolate like melted chocolate bars? I imagine it tastes like this." Keith and Alex didn't say much more than "Mmm, this is good," but Alex walked around for quite a bit with chocolate smudges around his mouth. A keeper.

Castilian Hot Chocolate
converted from a recipe by Tovah Hollander

6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 fl oz. water
4 c. milk
Whipped cream (optional)

Mix cocoa and sugar in a small saucepan, set aside. In small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until cornstarch dissolves. Pour cornstarch liquid into cocoa mixture, stir into a paste. Heat over medium heat, gradually whisking in milk. Continue stirring frequently while cocoa comes to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or so until cocoa thickens and becomes glossy. Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream. Serves 4.