What’s in Meghan’s Mug?

UPDATED OCTOBER 2019: I use a Milk Cafe (affiliate link) instead of a pot and stirring myself (this is not a recommendation. I’ve had to replace mine twice, but it still makes a great hot chocolate). My current chocolate mixture is 30g of Manjari, 10g of Tanzanie (Cacao Barry), and 10g of Saint Dominque.

ORIGINAL POST (CIRCA 2015)

So yesterday Jamie asked me for my hot chocolate recipe, and I had to tell her that I didn’t actually have one because I usually wing it.

Then Aja shared this meme with me:

And I laughed and laughed, then felt guilty about not having a recipe to share. So I pulled out the scale and the liquid measuring cup today, and voila!

MCD’s Daily Hot Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients

Approx. 2 cups skim milk [so just shy of 500 ml]

40 grams of Manjari [approx. 1.4 ounces] (64% single origin from Grand Cru; Valrhona)

20 grams [approx 0.7 ounces] of Saint Dominque (70% single origin; Cacao Barry)

A pinch of Fleur de Sel (optional) [I use this if I feel the need to sweeten the chocolate]

Instructions

I fill my travel mug with skim milk [turns out this is about 2 cups or 500 ml], then I dump this milk into a small pot and heat it to the point before scalding (but not actually scalding).

While the milk is warming, I toss the chocolate into a regular-sized mug or bowl (because that is easier to stir than the deeper travel mug). Usually, I don’t weigh the chocolate. I simply toss in a bunch of my go-to chocolate, Manjari, then add a smaller amount of my secondary chocolate-of-the-month.

If I’m adding salt to sweeten, I do so at this point. But I usually don’t need to with the Manjari base.

I pour approx. 1/3^rd of the hot milk over the chocolate (filling the mug about halfway), then let it sit for about two minutes.

Then I stir. Vigorously. First in one direction; for approx. one minute. Then, in the other direction; for approx. another minute.

Yes, I stir for that amount of time. Sometimes even longer. Don’t judge me. I love my hot chocolate. It’s a daily ritual. A moment I take each day.

I add a bit more of the hot milk, enough to almost fill the mug; stirring again. Yes, again. Seriously.

Then I pour the chocolate mixture into my travel mug, setting it aside.

I add the remaining hot milk to the now empty, but still chocolate-coated, regular mug (or bowl, if that’s what you opted to use). I also place the chocolate-coated spoon in the hot milk. Then I wait another two or so minutes, allowing the remnants of the chocolate to melt off the spoon and bottom of the mug. I stir this as well, scraping the bottom of the mug and mixing in as much of the residual chocolate as possible.

Then I pour everything into the travel mug.

And stir one more time. Carefully now, because the travel mug is usually pretty full by this point.

Yes.

Stir one more time.

It’s totally worth it.

Notes

If you want a richer hot chocolate, you can sub half of the skim milk for cream or whole milk.

This recipe calls for a large amount of chocolate, so you can totally back off on that.

Try blending a bunch of different chocolates until you come up with your favourite taste profile. This month I’ve been switching the Saint Dominque back and forth with Inaya, a 65% pur noir from Cacao Barry.

What is your favourite ‘beautiful chocolate’? 😀

Tasty!

Dowser 5: chocolate

I’ve had a few requests to post a list of the chocolate eaten or mentioned in the Dowser books, so I thought I would dash off this blog post so if you wanted to get your hands on any of this chocolate before the release date for Dowser 5 (July 23, 2015) then you would have a bit of time to do so.

Inaya chocolate discs from Cacao Barry — a 65 percent blend of intense but balanced cocoa. Purchased at Chocolate Arts in Vancouver along with chocolate for my stash (in the bag) and a seriously yummy bittersweet hot chocolate (in the pig mug).

The holy trinity of chocolate bars — aka Loma Sotavento from the Dominican Republic, Gran Couva from Trinidad, and El Pedregal from Venezuela by Valrhona. Purchased from Xoxolat.

Ritual Chocolate – 75 percent Madagascar, made-in-Colorado chocolate bar. Purchased from Xoxolat.

Lindt’s 70 percent Madagascar – I wanted to add a bar that I thought most of the Dowser readers might be able to get their hands on. This was a gift from my sis-in-law, Cindy. 🙂

^^^ And a little something it’s good for all of us to remember! ^^^

<3 <3 <3

The Dowser 5 ebook will be available THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 on Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, B&N, and Smashwords. The paperback will follow about two weeks later. The preorders should start going live around July 9 or 10th.

To help celebrate there will be two large giveaways. One the week before (July 15 – 18) and one the week of the release (July 20 – 23).

Don’t want to miss the release day? Please make sure you are signed up for my mailing list.

Don’t want to miss the giveaways? Please subscribe to my blog via the link second from the top on the righthand side of this page.

A trifecta of chocolate bars

Or, as Jade will undoubtedly refer to them in Dowser 5, ‘the holy trinity of chocolate bars,’ which will be terribly sacrilegious. However, we will probably excuse her because she’s had a really bad day. I know this because I’ve written the bad day part, but not the chocolate bar part.

I teased my Facebook page that I was going to test all of these bars in a single afternoon, but then only managed to taste two. I lost track of the Venezuelan bar through the reconfiguring of my office and just happened upon it in my filing cabinet this afternoon, so I decided to crack it while I wrote about Jade and Warner … and Kett … somewhere high up in the mountains …

Valrhona rarely goes wrong with their delicious creations, and they went all sorts of right with these 64% cacoa limited editions.

I tested the Loma Sotavento from the Dominican Republic first, and funnily enough it was my least favourite of the trio.

Valrhona’s tasting notes declare the Loma to be balanced and chocolatey, with round and light ripe fruits that gently give way to a delicate touch of toasted almond.

I picked up the fruit notes right away … yellow plum, maybe (and yum!) I found the chocolate more sweet than balanced, though with the lovely smoothness that seems to accompany all of Valrhona’s chocolate. And yes, I totally picked up the toasted almond finish as well. It came with a lingering aftertaste of sweet almond, which stuck around a bit too long for my taste.

Side note: Interestingly, this was Michael’s favourite of the three. He said he got caramel from it, right off the top.

Then I tried the Gran Couva from Trinidad.

According to the notes printed on the back of the bar, Valrhona feels that the Gran Couva offers subtle aromas of dried mint and fresh spices.

I picked up the mint even when simply smelling the first square – lovely! Upon tasting, I found the chocolate smooth, creamy, and subtly sweet. Followed by exceedingly subtle hints of mint with a tiny taste of spice at the very back of my throat – almost like an aroma rather than a flavour. Very, very fun! A fresh aftertaste followed, but light and not the least bit mungy.

Last, but certainly not least, I tried the El Pedregal from Venezuela.

Valrhona’s tasting notes: subtle notes of honey and ripe fruit.

I thought the smell of this bar was divine. A rich, deep cocoa scent that filled my nasal cavities (which doesn’t sound very elegant but I enjoyed it nonetheless – ha!). The first square was smooth and very chocolatey. A consistent, well-balanced flavour. I picked up an exceeding subtle hint of honey on my third piece. Not too sweet, and not at all bitter. It finished with a slight lingering aftertaste, but light, not unpleasant. Very, very tasty chocolate!

I declare all three of these bars very enjoyable and worth ‘investing’ in! 😀

FYI – I purchased these bars from Xoxolat in Vancouver last September, but I waited a little too long to try them (the expiration date was 12/31/14). I didn’t notice any issues in this regard, other than the chocolate didn’t snap as cleanly as fine chocolate usually does. Perhaps the taste of each was diminished as well (?) but they tasted just fine to me!

Tasting: Ampamakia by Valrhona

I’ve been conducting an exceedingly scientific series of chocolate tastings for the next Dowser Series trilogy over on my Facebook page. However, I promised myself that I would blog more this year, so I will now be posting any tastings I do here – YAY FOR ME!!

Yes, this is my version of research.

To the tasting!

I loaded the latest version of Dowser 4 on my iPad yesterday afternoon in order to read it once more before I do final tweaks. Then, it will be off to the proof reader! It was a crazy rainy day – perfect for a book and a new chocolate bar. I dug around in my stash drawer and opted for a favourite maker but a new chocolate.

Ampamakia by Valrhona. Limited edition. 64% Madagascar single-origin cocoa.

Tasting notes

According to the packaging: acid yellow fruit freshness and roasted notes.
My thoughts: smooth, creamy, with hints of citrus. Very balanced. All the quality I’ve come to expect from Valrhona, though slightly on the sweet side. Everything I love in a bean from Madagascar.

Very tasty. Definitely a keeper!!