Because our weather yesterday afternoon was perfect for drinking hot chocolate, I indulged in an adult version of the favorite childhood treat – a decadently rich, dark version of hot chocolate, with allspice, orange peel, vanilla, and a hint of black pepper.
I’m not sure if I left out a half-cup of liquid, but it came out a little too thick – like drinking molten chocolate – so I thinned it with some boiling water. Later on, in the evening, I indulged in a second mug – this time with the optional shot of spiced rum suggested in the recipe’s variations.
The recipe for The Duke’s Hot Chocolate is available online here, and comes from The Splendid Table, a weekly podcast by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Lynne knows everything about cooking, but her specialty is Italian food, and the duke for whom this hot chocolate was created in 1632 was Bolognese. The duke apparently knew a good thing when he tasted it.
In addition to her fun and informative Splendid Table podcast and Web site, you can cook with Lynne’s guidance every step of the way with her three print cookbooks and four e-cookbooks.
These are the ones I own. Click on the images for more info:
E-Books, $3.99 each:
And because I know some of you are going to be more curious about my pretty, tasseled bookmark than about the hot chocolate…
Happy Weekend Cooking!
Linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature on Beth Fish Reads. Click/tap image for Weekend Cooking posts from other bloggers.