DECADENT EUROPEAN DRINKING CHOCOLATE

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European style chocolate is vastly different than a cuppa hot chocolate.  Over the years, I have heard of it but I never had the opportunity to try any and did not really want to waste the money to buy the ingredients to make some.  That all changed a bit over a year ago when I was in Asheville, NC.  I had a girls weekend there, staying at the Grove Park Inn.  Just a side note, that place is truly awesome.  If you have the time and are in the area it is a must do place to stay as is visiting Asheville.  Oh and make sure to book a spa treatment.  Heaven at it's best.  

 As we were walking around downtown Asheville we came to a candy store.  Now I am not really huge on candy but the others wanted to go in and buy a few things.  As I was looking around I found that they sold a European style drinking chocolate.  Needless to say, I had to buy a cup.  Let me see if I can attempt to even begin to explain how truly delicious this was.  As I stated earlier it is not a cup of hot chocolate we are used to.  Which I knew already prior to purchasing my cup.  My first sip was so decadent.  The thickness mixed with the complex sweetness of the cocoa was astonishing to me.  The sweet level was spot on, it was not syrupy sweet but not at all bitter.  The chocolate was a complex mixture of happiness.  The flavor lingered on my palette but not with an after taste.  The cup was small but it was so decadent I had to share with my friends.  

 Since that visit, I have been trying to come up with a recipe but it is hard to get the mixture just right.  I have had issues with making it was too sweet.  This is not supposed to be dessert, per se.  

 EUROPEAN DRINKING CHOCOLATE

 Serving Size: 2 8 ounce mugs

 Ingredients

  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  • 2 ounces milk chocolate
  • 2 cups half and half divided
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
  • Warm a small pot on medium low for 3 minutes.  You do not want your pot hot, just warm.  Add 1 cup of half and half to the warm pot.  Slowly bring to an almost simmer.  You do not want it to be a boiling simmer.    
  • Shave your chocolate into shreds.  Doing this will help the chocolate melt better and quicker.  Add chocolate to the warm half and half.  Stir until melted.
  • Add sugar along with the last cup of half and half to the pot to bring to a drinking warm/hot heat level.  
  • Right before serving, add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract to the pot and give it a good stir.
  • Pour into warm mugs.  
This recipe needs to be simmered until it is smooth not just when things are melted.  You want it to have time to thicken and blend into a cup of joy.  

Here are some fun facts about how chocolate came about.
  1. It started in Mexico around 500 BC.  The Mayans was drinking crushed cocoa seeds mixed with cornmeal and peppers.  
  2. Cortez brought back chocolate to Spain in the early 1500s but they loved it so good they did not share with the rest of Europe.
  3. In the eighteenth century, it arrived in London.
  4. Once hitting London chocolate shops starting opening. 
  5. Milk was added in the late 1700s from a recipe that came from Jamaica
  6. Hot chocolate used to be used as a treatment for liver and stomach disease.
  7. Cocoa powder was developed in Holland.
It is always fun to learn and try something new. 

ENJOY!!

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