pretty much most of my many fellow foodies concur that hot chocolate should be rich and full bodied. of course sometimes we all prefer a soothing milky version, the kind that we’ll make at home with some cocoa powder, sugar and hot milk on a cold night. but when we go out, we want something rich and luscious and decadent. for a long time it was hot chocolate from paul’s and apostrophe that hit those notes. white cups holding chocolate so thick you ‘d have to finish off with a spoon. carluccio’s does a pretty good one too. i recently tried the chocolate milano at caffè nero which was really good. not as thick as the one’s mentioned above but with a lovely velvety and strong chocolate flavour (especially for a chain).
o and i tried paul young’s hot chocolate at the beginning of the cold season. since he is a fan of water based chocolate his is a combination of strong dark chocolate and water. consequently it is a very thin but very very hot and can be enhanced with chilli, cardamom or ginger. his is the kind of hot chocolate that you have to share since it is incredibly rich and dark.
for a long time now i have been wanting to try la maison du chocolat’s hot chocolate, a french chocolaterie with a boutique in may fair. and so i finally went there this afternoon with my flat mate who first introduced me to their truffles and ganaches. there are two different kinds of hot chocolate here – one infused with vanilla and one plain. j goes for the one with vanilla and i, for the plain one in agreement that it would be best to try both. maison du chocolat’s hot chocolate isn’t thick but the flavour is really really intense. in fact both of us are glad that it isn’t as thick as it’s so rich. we work our way slowly, savouring each sip. j’s is milkier and creamier and slightly sweet with vanilla, mine is a shade lighter than the colour of a solid bar of 70% dark chocolate but is slightly sweeter and creamier.
we figured it best to add a really rich treat to the season of snow and festivity...if you are a connoisseur of chocolate and you haven’t tried this, hurry up and get here. you’re truly missing out.
