I challenged myself to come close to Monique's level. Today I gave it a shot, and according to Jasna, Monique's now has a rival. I personally think I found a fabulous excuse to experiment and make much more hot chocolate, yet I don't entirely disagree with Jasna's assessment.
Note that this is a pretty adult version of hot chocolate. It is not very sweet, the combination of hazelnuts and chocolate makes it pretty thick. I am sipping it as I type this ...
First, I had to make hazelnut milk. The ingredients are simple, roasted hazelnuts and milk. I added a fistful or so of hazelnuts and a good cup of milk to the blender. I started blending at the lowest speed to chop the hazelnuts, then I gradually increased the speed to the max, and finally it was turbo-speed time. I let the blender run at its top speed until the milk and hazelnuts became quite hot, but not boiling. I did not time the blending action, but I am sure it was at least 5 minutes. The result was a frothy and thick liquid with hazelnuts completely emulsified. This is where Vitamix truly shines and this is how one justifies the expensive purchase!
While the blender was running, I put a stainless steel pan, 2.5 quarts, on the stove at a very low heat and I put in one row of milk chocolate, and half a row of medium dark chocolate, both the Belgian variety from Trader Joe's. The heat was low enough to slowly melt the chocolate, but did not scorch it. Then I added the hazelnut milk, increased the heat to medium and stirred with a spatula for a few minutes. The chocolate was completely dissolved in milk, there was no trace of chocolate chunks or particles. I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and about a teaspoon of hazelnut extract. That is because I am nuts for hazelnuts.
I made sure the hot chocolate did not come to the boil, both to prevent scorching, and also to retain the frothiness.
Addendum, March 22, 2014: Lately I have been using milk frother to "whisk" the hot chocolate after stirring it well with a spatula. The additional airiness is a substantial improvement over the previous iteration. I also discovered that chilled hot chocolate, meaning straight from the fridge, is addictive.
Addendum, February 27, 2018: This hot chocolate remains our favorite. I adjusted a little bit how I make it, hence this update:
- I still blend the hazelnuts and milk until I get a total emulsion. No chunks. I am pretty sure one needs a powerful blender like a Vitamix. I blend until the liquid is pretty hot.
- I still melt my chocolate on the stove, though one could also use the microwave. I started to use dark chocolate only, 72% cocoa if I have it.
- Now I add melted chocolate into the hot milk-hazlenut emulsion in the blender and blend some more. This emulsifies the chocolate really well.
- I add some hazelnut extract, and some vanilla extract to the blender along with the chocolate.
- I tend to finish the heating the mixture up on the stove, though one could also pour the hot chocolate into cups and put them into a microwave for a few seconds.
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