Choca
2 squares (ounces) chocolate 1/2 cup liquid coffee 3 cups water 1 cup sugar whipped cream 1 teaspoon vanilla Melt the chocolate in a dry saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the liquid coffee to it, and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add sugar and water, and cook 5 minutes. Chill, add vanilla, and pour into glasses, each containing tablespoon of whipped cream. Be sure the beverage is thoroughly chilled before serving. Serves 3.
An iced chocolate-coffee drink built on a quick cocoa syrup. The whole thing hinges on melting the chocolate slowly and on chilling the finished mixture hard before it meets the cream.
- "Squares" of chocolateA square is one ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate, the standard moulded portion of the period. Two ounces is correct here; semisweet will work but the drink is already very sweet.
- Liquid coffeeBrewed coffee rather than dry grounds. Use strong drip or leftover breakfast coffee, not espresso concentrate.
- The dry saucepanChocolate seizes into a grainy paste if a drop of water or steam reaches it, which is why the pan must be dry and the heat gentle. Keep it under 120F, or melt it in a bowl set over hot water and move it to the pan to add the coffee.
- SugarOne cup for three glasses is a great deal by current taste. Half a cup gives a syrup that still balances unsweetened chocolate; adjust before chilling, since cold mutes sweetness slightly.
- The five-minute cookCooking the sugar, water and chocolate together for five minutes makes a thin syrup and disperses the cocoa solids. Stir at the start so nothing scorches on the bottom.
- Vanilla after coolingVanilla is added off the heat and after chilling because its aroma is volatile and boils away. Do the same with any liqueur if you add one.
- ChillingThe instruction is repeated in the original for good reason: warm syrup melts the whipped cream on contact and the drink turns muddy. Several hours in the refrigerator, or an ice bath if you are in a hurry.