Chef Lupita
Atole de Almendra de las Madres Clarisas
Puebla's convent almond atole, ground from blanched almendras, milk, canela, and a pinch of arroz, belongs to the quiet winter kitchens of the Clarisas.
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Champurrado Conventual Poblano
Created by
Puebla's convent champurrado, from the city of talavera and chocolate de metate, thickened with masa de maiz and whisked with a molinillo for Christmas morning.
Beverages
Mexican
Comfort Food
Christmas
Holiday
15 min
Active Time
30 min cook•45 min total
Yield6 servings
Puebla de los Angeles is where this champurrado belongs, in the convent city that turned cacao, canela, sugar, almonds, and corn into disciplined kitchen work. I place this version in the orbit of the Convento de Santa Monica, where poblana recetarios preserved chocolate de metate preparations with the seriousness they deserved.
The ingredient that defines it is masa de maiz. Not cornstarch. Not flour. Fresh masa para tortillas dissolved in water and strained until smooth. That corn thickens the chocolate and gives the drink its body. Without masa, you have chocolate caliente. With masa, you have champurrado.
Chocolate de metate is the other non-negotiable. Mayordomo, La Soledad, or a tablet ground from cacao, canela, almendra, and sugar will work. Nesquik will not. No me vengas con atajos. The molinillo matters too, not for decoration, but because it wakes the surface and blends the cacao fat back into the drink.
This is not food from a single Mexico. This is Puebla's convent kitchen meeting the older corn atoles of central Mexico, served in talavera cups on cold December mornings when the tamales are already wrapped and waiting. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Champurrado descends from pre-Columbian atoles thickened with nixtamalized corn, later joined to cacao and colonial sweeteners after Spanish convent kitchens adopted chocolate as a daily and ceremonial drink. In Puebla, convent houses including Santa Monica preserved recetarios for chocolate de metate and sweetened drinks, part of the same baroque kitchen culture that shaped mole poblano, rompope, and almond atoles. The drink's thickness comes from masa de maiz, a survival of older corn technique, while piloncillo and canela reflect the colonial pantry that convent cooks made their own.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
water
Quantity
8 cups
divided
fresh masa para tortillas
Quantity
8 ounces
or 1 cup masa harina
chocolate de metate
Quantity
6 ounces
chopped
piloncillo
Quantity
1 cone, about 7 ounces
chopped
Mexican canela
Quantity
2 sticks
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| waterdivided | 8 cups |
| fresh masa para tortillasor 1 cup masa harina | 8 ounces |
| chocolate de metatechopped | 6 ounces |
| piloncillochopped | 1 cone, about 7 ounces |
| Mexican canela | 2 sticks |
| fine sea salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy clay olla or thick-bottomed 4-quart pot
- •Molinillo for whisking
- •Fine-mesh strainer
- •Wooden spoon
- •Talavera poblana cups or jicaras for serving
Instructions
- 1
Dissolve the masa
Put the fresh masa in a bowl with 2 cups of the water. Work it with your fingers until there are no hard lumps, then pass it through a fine-mesh strainer into another bowl. If using masa harina, whisk it with the water and let it sit 10 minutes before straining. Cornstarch does not belong here. The masa is what makes this champurrado and not hot chocolate.
- 2
Infuse the canela
In a heavy clay olla or thick-bottomed pot, combine the remaining 6 cups water, canela, piloncillo, and salt. Bring to a steady simmer over medium heat, stirring until the piloncillo dissolves. The liquid should smell of canela and dark sugar before the chocolate enters. Build the base first. Así se hace y punto.
- 3
Melt the chocolate
Add the chopped chocolate de metate and lower the heat. Stir until it dissolves into the piloncillo water. Use real stone-ground chocolate, the kind with cacao grit, sugar, canela, and sometimes almond. Not powdered drink mix. Not a candy bar. If you use Ibarra because that is what you can find, know what is missing: the deeper cacao and the rough metate texture.
- 4
Thicken with masa
Whisk the masa mixture again, then pour it into the pot in a thin stream while stirring constantly. Keep the heat at medium-low. The champurrado will look thin at first, then tighten as the corn cooks. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon so the masa does not catch and scorch.
- 5
Whisk with molinillo
Cook 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until the drink coats the spoon and tastes like cooked corn, not raw masa. Remove the canela. Set a molinillo between your palms and roll it back and forth to make the surface lively and thick. The texture should be generous, not gluey. If it stands like pudding, add hot water a little at a time.
- 6
Serve in cups
Ladle into talavera cups or jicaras while hot. Serve for breakfast with tamales, pan de yema, or sweet bread from the market. Champurrado waits for nobody; as it sits, the masa keeps thickening. Stir the pot before every pour. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
Chef Tips
- •Fresh masa para tortillas gives the cleanest corn flavor. Buy it from a tortilleria that smells like nixtamal, not from a supermarket shelf. If you use masa harina, hydrate it first and strain it. A lump of raw masa in the cup is a punishment, not tradition.
- •Chocolate de metate means stone-ground tablet chocolate. Mayordomo and La Soledad are good names to look for. Ibarra works only in a pinch, and you will lose the rough cacao depth and the almond-canela balance of a proper tablet.
- •Do not boil hard after the masa goes in. Gentle heat cooks the corn evenly. Hard boiling makes the bottom scorch and the drink taste bitter.
- •This drink contains no chile. Not all Mexican food is chile and heat. Puebla knew restraint when restraint served the dish.
Advance Preparation
- •The piloncillo-canela water can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat it before adding the chocolate and masa.
- •Champurrado is best served the day it is made. If reheating leftovers, loosen with hot water and whisk well because the masa thickens as it rests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 390g)
Calories
345 calories
Total Fat
9 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
110 mg
Total Carbohydrates
64 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
46 g
Protein
3 g
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