Chocolate II

A pantry variation on the book's base chocolate, written for households without fresh milk on hand. The whole point is the substitution, so the arithmetic of the can matters more than anything else.

• Know which can you haveEvaporated milk is unsweetened; sweetened condensed milk is roughly 40 percent sugar by weight. The recipe treats them as interchangeable only if you drop the sugar when using the sweetened kind, and that instruction is not optional.
• Can sizes then and nowCan sizes now -- A standard can of evaporated milk today is 12 fl oz, sweetened condensed 14 oz. Twelve fluid ounces diluted with two cups of boiling water gives roughly three and a half cups of liquid, somewhat more than the three cups of milk it replaces.
• "Cream" on the label"Evaporated cream" was a common trade name for plain evaporated milk, not for canned cream. Buy evaporated milk.
• The chocolate itselfRecipes of this kind generally mean unsweetened baking chocolate, rubbed smooth with a little of the hot liquid before the rest goes in; the quantity is set by Chocolate I., which is not reproduced here. Cocoa powder will work but gives a thinner drink.
• HeatBring the mixture just to scalding, when bubbles ring the edge of the pan, and hold it there. Canned milks scorch faster than fresh and a hard boil will leave a skin and a cooked flavour.
• FinishWhisk hard, or mill it, before pouring; the canned-milk version benefits from being aerated.
• YieldAbout three and a half cups, four small cups or three generous ones.