Chocolate Quente Junino

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 2-liter saucepan
• •Whisk
• •Measuring cups and spoons
• •Heatproof spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the slurry

   Pour 1/2 cup of the cold milk into a small bowl. Add the cornstarch and whisk until smooth, with no dry powder hiding at the bottom. Cornstarch needs to dissolve in cold liquid first, or it grabs onto hot milk in clumps and then you spend the night chasing little lumps around the pan.

2. 2

   Mix the cocoa

   In a heavy saucepan, whisk the cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and another 1/2 cup of the milk until you have a dark, smooth paste. Do this before adding all the milk, because cocoa floats and sulks when you dump it into a full pan. A paste gives you chocolate all the way through, not brown milk with specks.

3. 3

   Warm the milk

   Whisk in the remaining 3 cups milk and add the cinnamon stick if using. Set the pan over medium heat and warm it until tiny bubbles gather around the edge and the milk smells like chocolate and cinnamon. Don't boil it hard. Milk boiled with enthusiasm climbs the pan, scorches on the bottom, and makes a mess you did not invite.

4. 4

   Thicken gently

   Whisk the cornstarch slurry once more, then pour it into the warm chocolate while stirring. Keep the heat at medium-low and stir with a spoon or whisk for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom and corners. The drink will look thin, then it will suddenly feel heavier. That's the starch cooking and thickening the milk, not magic, not luck.

5. 5

   Check the point

   Lift the spoon and look at the back. The chocolate should coat it in a glossy layer, and a line drawn through it with your finger should stay open for a second before closing. If it's still running off like plain milk, cook one more minute. If it gets thicker than you like, whisk in a splash of milk and let it loosen. You are in charge of the ponto.

6. 6

   Finish and serve

   Turn off the heat, remove the cinnamon stick, and stir in the vanilla if using. Taste for sugar while it's hot, because cold sweetness lies and hot chocolate tells the truth. Pour into mugs and drink right away, glossy and thick, the kind that leaves a chocolate mustache and nobody needs to be elegant about it.

Chef Tips

• •Use unsweetened cocoa powder, not ready hot chocolate mix. The mix is mostly sugar and promises. Cocoa lets you decide how sweet the cup should be, which is how adults cook even when they're making something for children.
• •Whole milk gives the best body. You can use a lower-fat milk if that's what you have, because a Tuesday is a Tuesday, but the drink will be thinner and less round. Don't blame the cornstarch for doing a smaller job in a smaller room.
• •If you want it more like mingau, increase the cornstarch to 3 tablespoons. If you want it drinkable but still cozy, keep it at 2 tablespoons. The point is yours, as long as the starch is fully cooked.
• •A square or two of chopped dark chocolate can go in at the end for a deeper flavor. Nice, not mandatory. The recipe works without it, because cocoa, sugar, milk, and method already know what they're doing.
• •Reheat leftovers gently with a splash of milk, stirring well. Thick drinks set up in the fridge, because starch keeps working as it cools. That's normal, not a tragedy.

Advance Preparation

• •Measure the cocoa, sugar, salt, and cornstarch up to 1 day ahead and keep them in separate small containers so the drink comes together fast.
• •The finished hot chocolate keeps 3 days in the fridge. Reheat over low heat with 2 to 4 tablespoons milk per cup, stirring until glossy again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)