Chocolat Chaud (real hot chocolate)
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Last Saturday:
Chilly winter weather is here to stay. The morning started off with just 4 degrees. My mother bought black fingerless gloves for me, true market trader stylee, & despite my low reservation with it in the trend-o-meter rating, I must admit it was a welcome piece of garment! Just goes to show, ‘mother knows best’ right? – – – – – The trade went smoothly enough. My truffles went quickly. Huge help came from two girls looking for something to take to a dinner party & bought a huge quantity of the caramel ganache truffles coated in tempered dark chocolate. – – – – – One bit of sad news of the day was that a local couple who had been buying my Tarte Tatin every morning say they are moving from the area, & next week they will buy my Tarte for the last time… – – – – – One bit of bizarre moment was when the girl with a Halloween mask & orange bucket asking around for treats was still loitering the market four hours later & I realized that, hey, that ain’t an innocent Halloween anymore, it’s ‘begging’!
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This week’s entry is about my ideas & plans for the stall that I am always conjuring up, but never have enough time to fully develop:
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There is the Jam making – I have 41 empty jars waiting to be filled… The labels are designed & I have done numerous product tests to perfect the technique. So far I have only made & sold three jars (Strawberry jam with a tablespoon of Kirsch cherry liqueur). But when it comes to actually making more, I have no time to spare & it’s always on the back burner… Or maybe my fire for it has watered down now that I have satisfied ‘the need to know’, like ‘been there, done that and got the T-shirt‘.
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I have 2kg of Pecan Nuts that need to be used. My plan was to make Pecan Tart or Tartlette aux noix with it but I haven’t found the time to test bake. I know it’s right for the season we’re in, so I better get going…
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Another plan is to serve Hot Chocolate (in French they say Chocolat Chaud – somehow French language sound so beautiful…). I know some people think it’s a sweet drink for children, but This drink is thick, rich & truly the ‘food of the Gods’ (which is the translation of the Latin name for Cacao).
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When it’s cold like this, hot chocolate is bound to go down well. So what’s stopping me?
1. I need to purchase a drinks dispenser. We’re talking £500.00 just for this.
2. I have no electricity. I need to buy a portable generator – The cheapest I have found is £60.00 on ebay UK – which is probably the wrong model for my type of usage. Apparently they are noisy & I have no idea how to use it. And it’s operated by fuel?? Wouldn’t that be smelly for my chocolates & cakes?
3. I need to source cheap & good looking cups. Would I also need get lids too? Or can I get away with serving the drink without the lid…
I wonder what price people would pay for a cup of takeaway hot chocolate? £1.50? £2.00? I don’t think no more than that. And besides how many cups would I need to sell before I see the returns?
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Since I will never be able to serve this drink on my stall, please make & drink this at home instead!
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Chocolat Chaud Recipe:
I have a fantastic recipe for Hot Chocolate. It is dark, rich & thick, it is like drinking liquid ganache, & is for adult consumption. Ideally be served in a cup, not mug, or a nice porcelain demitasse cup. Rule of thumb is 1:5 ratio of chocolate & milk+cream liquid. You can vary the thickness of your drink by how much double cream you put in it, in substitute of milk.
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(for one cup)
18g Dark fine chocolate (button form or chopped from a block for quicker melt)
72g Whole (full fat) milk
18g Double cream
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1. Simmer milk & cream in a pot.
2. Pour (1) over the chocolate in a bowl.
3. Whisk & melt the chocolate.
4. Return the mixture to the pot & heat.
5. Whisk until preferred consistency.
6. Strain the liquid (with a tea strainer) in to a pre-warmed cup.
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You can infuse the milk (step 1) with spice such as: cinnamon stick, grated nutmeg, vanilla pod, cloves, chilli… Or what about a dash of Triple sec (means ‘Triple distilled’ orange liqueur) like Cointreau? Experiment & create the original cuppa.
… For super indulgence, if you have raspberries, you can place a couple in the drink to fall to the bottom of the cup for a nice surprise at the end!
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