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Nothing is more evocative of cold weather than a steaming cup in your hand. It could be tea, or coffee, or a hot toddy, but the one that speaks loudest to sitting by a fire and watching movies while the poor saps outside stuck in bad weather field god awful traffic is hot cocoa. And while I have been known to indulge in a cup of powdered cocoa with freeze dried marshmallows, there is nothing like the real thing. So pour yourself a cup of steaming hot schadenfreude and make a toast to those stuck outside, it’s hot cocoa time!
HOT COCOA
In the balance of quantity over quality, quality always wins for me. I’d rather have a little cup of rich chocolate than a gallon of watered down crap. So for my recipe for hot cocoa, it is more reminiscent of European style hot chocolate, rich and a little thick, meant to be sipped rather than gulped. There is a little spice that tickles your throat, which brings the whole thing together for me.
For 4 small cups
2 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup of heavy cream
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 pinches of nutmeg
2 pinches of cayenne pepper
Measure out the milk and have it sit out as you prepare the rest of the recipe. This is to bring the temperature down slightly. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Once mostly melted, add the sugar and a bit of the cream, using a whisk blend them together. Add a bit more cream, and blend again. Continue the process until you have finished off the cream. Congratulations! You have just made a ganache. Next, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. My friend Christie and I realized that this was the more efficient way to add the spices, otherwise you’ll just have them floating around like flotsam and jetsam on top. Add the milk, about a quarter to a third cup at a time, whisking to blend. If you add more than that at a time, the cold milk will shock the ganache. When you have added all of the milk, finish it with the vanilla, whisking to combine. Pour into smaller cups (ones for espresso work well), pop a marshmallow on top and enjoy!
RASPBERRY ROSE MARSHMALLOWS
Nothing pairs better with hot cocoa than a bobbing marshmallow slowly melting on top. You poke at it with your spoon, wondering what’s the best moment to devour it. And what pairs beautifully with dark chocolate? Orange: sure; vanilla: yes; raspberry: definitely. Raspberries and their tart berry flavor showcase the depth of a good dark chocolate. So when I was deciding on how to approach the marshmallow, which I have a very spotty relationship with (my friend Christie and I were covered in it after trying to make home-made Ding Dongs), raspberry seemed like the best choice to be dunked in hot chocolate. The rose flavor is inspired by one of my favorite truffles at Compartes, owned and helmed by my friend Jonathan Grahm. The rose flavor adds a subtle floral note and brings out the natural flavor of whatever you pair it with, much like vanilla.
About 1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 ½ envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
8 ounces fresh raspberries (to make 4 oz of juice)
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
½ cup hot water (about 115 degrees)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon rose water (the Iranian kind has a delicious flavor)
Oil bottom and sides of a 13 by 9 inch rectangular metal baking pan and heavily dust the bottom and sides with some confectioners' sugar.
Puree the raspberries in a blender, and push through a sieve to gather ½ a cup of raspberry juice. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, pour in the ½ cup of juice and sprinkle with the gelatin. Let it stand for about 10 minutes.
In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240 degrees, about 12 minutes. A word to the wise, this happens very very quickly. While I turned around to tidy up, the entire batch jumped to 275 and burned, so once the thermometer reads 200, keep a close watch, and take it off the heat when it reaches 230. The thermometer should still creep up to 240 after that. Remove the pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
With the standing mixer beat the mixture on high speed until light pink, thick and nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes if using standing mixer. In a large bowl separately beat the egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and rose water into sugar mixture until it is just combined (about 2 minutes). Pour the mixture into baking pan and sift ¼ cup confectioners' sugar evenly over top. Let the marshmallow set uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to 1 day.
Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto large cutting board. Lifting up 1 corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and let drop onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallows into roughly 1-inch cubes. Sift remaining confectioners' sugar into a large bowl and add marshmallows in batches, tossing to evenly coat. Marshmallow keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 week. They make lovely gifts, and you can always cover them in a dark chocolate ganache to eat alone. Enjoy!
About 1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 ½ envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
8 ounces fresh raspberries (to make 4 oz of juice)
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
½ cup hot water (about 115 degrees)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon rose water (the Iranian kind has a delicious flavor)
Oil bottom and sides of a 13 by 9 inch rectangular metal baking pan and heavily dust the bottom and sides with some confectioners' sugar.
Puree the raspberries in a blender, and push through a sieve to gather ½ a cup of raspberry juice. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, pour in the ½ cup of juice and sprinkle with the gelatin. Let it stand for about 10 minutes.
In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240 degrees, about 12 minutes. A word to the wise, this happens very very quickly. While I turned around to tidy up, the entire batch jumped to 275 and burned, so once the thermometer reads 200, keep a close watch, and take it off the heat when it reaches 230. The thermometer should still creep up to 240 after that. Remove the pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
With the standing mixer beat the mixture on high speed until light pink, thick and nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes if using standing mixer. In a large bowl separately beat the egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and rose water into sugar mixture until it is just combined (about 2 minutes). Pour the mixture into baking pan and sift ¼ cup confectioners' sugar evenly over top. Let the marshmallow set uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to 1 day.
Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto large cutting board. Lifting up 1 corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and let drop onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallows into roughly 1-inch cubes. Sift remaining confectioners' sugar into a large bowl and add marshmallows in batches, tossing to evenly coat. Marshmallow keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 week. They make lovely gifts, and you can always cover them in a dark chocolate ganache to eat alone. Enjoy!
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