Friends, this is it. The only hot chocolate recipe you’ll ever need for snuggly nights curled up in your pjs. You might remember that I linked to this article on The Guardian about how to make the perfect hot chocolate a couple of weeks ago. Well, I mulled it over for a while (meaning I ran to the store to stock up on cream and good chocolate immediately) and played around until I found perfection.
Perfection, in case you were wondering, involves 70% dark chocolate (Green & Blacks Organic is my favourite), really good milk chocolate, normal milk (we use skimmed at home) and a healthy slog of heavy cream. Add a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of salt and you have yourself a cup of perfect hot chocolate.
Perfect Hot Chocolate
adapted from Felicity Cloake via The Guardian
Ingredients
- 225ml skimmed milk
- 35g 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 15g good-quality milk chocolate, finely chopped
- 30ml heavy (double) cream
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Warm about a quarter of your milk in a pan over a medium heat and stir in the chocolate. Continue to stir until the chocolate has melted into the milk, then whisk in the remaining milk and the cream.
- Continue to heat until the mixture is hot, but not boiling, then add the cinnamon and salt. Taste, adjust if necessary, and serve. For a frothier cup, whisk vigorously just before pouring. Serves 1.
My poor waffle maker has been languishing in my pantry for months, unused since the last batch of chocolate waffles. (Otherwise known as waffle dessert. For waffle breakfast, see here and here.) Dan has been talking longingly of the days when waffles made a regular appearance at breakfast so this weekend we did the decent thing and busted out the maker for some waffles.
Not just any old waffles though. No. These waffles might just be the mightiest of them all. Forget sweet, we went savoury all the way with sharp cheddar, black pepper, chopped chives, parsley, and a decisive crunch of cornmeal. They are so good. You won’t need anything on top in my opinion so long as you have a couple of runny eggs and some bacon, but a dollop of sour cream wouldn’t go amiss.
The dough is pretty thick going into the waffle maker – fear not. The end result is fluffy and perfectly done.
Savoury Cheddar-Chive Waffles
adapted from Joy the Baker and Williams Sonoma
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Directions
- Preheat a waffle maker on medium-high heat according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, black pepper, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter and buttermilk. Stir in the grated cheese. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, then add the chives and parsley. Stir until just incorporated. Try not to over-mix the batter.
- Cook according to your waffle machine instructions.
- Garnish with extra chives and parsley and serve immediately with bacon and fried eggs. Add a dollop of sour cream if you wish. Serves two.
