hot chocolate grand cru

I don’t know what the weather has been like in your neck of the woods, but here in Chicago it’s been pretty raw and rainy. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take it over an arctic vortex, but it’s definitely the type of gloom that makes you want to stay in and get cozy (read: extremely lazy). I thought a hot chocolate recipe might be just the thing to pick some of you up that are experiencing similar gray days.

Now about this hot chocolate…it’s not just any old powdered, watery, imitation chocolate drink, it’s the real f*ckin’ deal. I’m talkin’ grand cru my friends. Grand. Cru. For those of you that drink wine, you may know the term already as a classification for top quality vineyards. That may be it’s most widely known definition, but the term Grand Cru can refer to other food items too, like cheese, beer, spirits and yes, chocolate.

In reference to chocolate, Grand Cru was originally a term used in a similar manner to wines, designating a quality chocolate with bean to bar coming from the same region. That’s a label you’ll still see occasionally on chocolate today, and it has started to slip into meaning simply high quality chocolate.

As far as a drink is concerned, chocolate grand cru, or what some people call drinking chocolate, is the espresso shot of the hot chocolate world. It’s a drink that should be sipped not chugged (unless you really want to in which case go for it) because of the overall richness and intensity of it. In its most serious form it’s basically a thin ganache. Those who don’t love chocolate need not apply.

Personally, I’m a real hot chocolate fiend. A little fact about me: despite years and years of early rising for work, I’ve never been a coffee drinker. Caffeine in general doesn’t really do it for me. But I live in a world obsessed with the stuff and often when out with people drinking coffee I’d order a hot chocolate to drink with them (these days I’m more of a decaf green tea guy). I’ve had my fair share of the stuff and have always had a little side project playing around with recipes for it.

So I have a bunch of hot chocolate recipes because I’m a nerd like that, running the spectrum of intensity and sweetness. This recipe falls somewhere in the middle, with deep cocoa flavor, nice notes of bitterness and acidity from the dark chocolate but a rounded, mellow sweetness from the vanilla and milk chocolate.

hot chocolate – grand cru

500g whole milk
55g chocolate 85%
100g chocolate 64%
75g chocolate 41%
8g cocoa powder
25g sugar
2g salt
1 vanilla bean

Split the vanilla bean and scrape it to collect the vanilla pulp. Some people like to split the bean down the center with the point of a knife, but I like to filet the bean because it creates a wider, flatter surface to scrape.

Add the vanilla pulp and bean to the whole milk and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Quickly cover the sauce pot with plastic wrap and infuse the milk for 20min.

This is a sign that the plastic wrap was sealed well and the mixture is infused (the plastic will only contract inward when the liquid is cooled).

Remove the vanilla bean and bring the milk back to a simmer and remove it from the heat.

Add the chocolates, salt, sugar and cocoa powder and hand blend (or whisk) the mixture until homogenized. Serve hot.

Cheers – Chef Scott

Save

Save

hot chocolate grand cru

Votes: 1 Rating: 5 You: Rate this recipe!

Print Recipe

hot chocolate grand cru Votes: 1 Rating: 5 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 500 g whole milk
• 55 g chocolate, 85%
• 100 g chocolate, 64%
• 75 g chocolate, 41%
• 8 g cocoa powder
• 25 g sugar
• 2 g salt
• 1 whole vanilla bean

Servings:

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Instructions

1. Split the vanilla bean and scrape it to collect the vanilla pulp.
2. Add the vanilla pulp and bean to the whole milk and bring the mixture to a simmer.
3. Quickly cover the sauce pot with plastic wrap and infuse the milk for 20min.
4. Remove the vanilla bean and bring the milk back to a simmer and remove it from the heat.
5. Add the chocolates, salt, sugar and cocoa powder and hand blend (or whisk) the mixture until homogenized. Serve hot.

Share this Recipe