Mexican Hot Chocolate
My family’s tradition on New Year’s Eve is to include Mexican hot chocolate on the menu. It is fragrant and frothy and enjoyed late at night with Buñuelos. It’s just not New Year’s Eve without these two delicious treats. When we make traditional Mexican hot chocolate it is prepared with a hard tablet form of chocolate such as Abuelita, Ibarra or Kekua brands. This form of chocolate, also known as table chocolate, is a blend of cinnamon, chocolate and sugar.
As a child I enjoyed New Year’s eve celebrations with hot chocolate lovingly prepared by my grandmother. She used a utensil, called a molinillo, which is a wooden tool that has multiple uses. The flat tip is used to grind the hard chocolate tablet after it has been soaked in milk or a small amount of water. Once the chocolate is well blended in the liquid, the molinillo becomes a wooden whisk. The handle is placed between both palms. The palms are rubbed back and forth while the end of the molinillo froths the milk. If you don’t have a molinillo you can pour the hot chocolate into a blender and carefully blend for a few seconds until frothy. I do hope you make this special blended drink, because it’s just not the holidays without a late night cup of Mexican hot chocolate.
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Servings: 4
½ cup water
4 oz. Mexican chocolate tablets (such as Ibarra, Abuelita or Kekua)chopped
3 ½ cups whole milk
1. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add water and chopped chocolate tablets, stirring and mashing until dissolved.
2. Add milk and stirring frequently, bring to a simmer until fragrant, about 10 minutes.
3. Froth with a molinillo or pour into a blender and blend until frothy. Serve immediately.
