Sweet Overload

Aunty Belle has requested my recipe for the Mexican hot chocolate I mention as a fitting accompaniment to the biscochito recipe I posted below.

Look out, though. This is seriously sweet stuff. Pair it with the biscochito or any other sugary delight and you could enter the Sweet Overload Zone, a state of sugar induced euphoria that is not, I repeat NOT, for amateurs.

Moi's Mega (Nuevo) Mexican Hot Chocolate
Makes 4 servings. Recipe can easily be doubled.

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate – don't skimp; get the good stuff like Valrhona – grated or finely chopped
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream (Your arteries are groaning, you say? Ignore them. They'll shut up.)
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon New Mexico ground red chile powder, preferably Chimayo

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, combine chocolate, milk, cream, sugar, cinnamon, and chile powder and heat until steaming hot, stirring constantly with a wire whisk or wooden spoon. DO NOT let mixture come to a boil.

Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, beat egg and vanilla with a wire whisk until frothy. Very, very slowly, add a half cup of the chocolate/milk mixture in a thin stream to the egg/vanilla mixture, stirring the entire time with a wire whisk. Then place the chocolate/milk mixture back on the stove add the egg/vanilla mixture slowly in a thin stream, stirring with a wire whisk. The point here is to do this slowly and carefully, so you don't end up with scrambled eggs. That would be yucky.

Cook mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until once again hot but not boiling.

Remove from heat and with a wire whisk or rotary beater, beat the mixture until frothy. You should see a definite foam form, as in the photo above. Immediately pour into mugs, making sure each is topped with foam.