I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of hot chocolate, but sometimes (rarely) it’s just something I gotta make. The weather, of course, always have something to do with the decision of making it or not, and after I turn on the stove and the chocolate begins to melt – it fills my heart with warmth and joy.
This is not a usual hot chocolate – it contains caramel and mandarin juice, and I like to serve it with homemade mandarin marshmallow and fresh whipped cream.
Caramel and Mandarin Hot Chocolate
1 cup
Ingredients:
25 grams (2 tbsp.) sugar
250 ml. (1 cup) milk
40 ml. (3 tbsp.) mandarin juice
60 grams dark chocolate 60% cocoa solids
For whipped cream:
125 ml. heavy cream
1 tbsp. sugar powder
For serving:
mandarin marshmallows (recipe follows)
cocoa powder
Preparation:
- Put sugar in a small saucepan and form a caramel.
- When an amber caramel is formed add milk and mandarin juice carefully, and cook over medium-high heat, until the caramel melts again and obtained a uniform texture.
- Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or over double boiler and add the hot milk into the mixture, while stirring.
- Continue stirring until you get smooth and dense chocolate milk.
- Transfer to serving cups.
- Whip the cream and powdered sugar until you get a stable whipped cream.
- Transfer the cream to a pastry bag fitted with jagged piping tip, and pipe a generous mound of cream over each cup.
- Serve with mandarin marshmallows and sprinkle some cocoa powder.
Mandarin marshmallow
- Makes 20*20 cm square pan
Ingredients:
28 grams gelatin powder
56 ml. water
300 grams sugar
140 grams mandarin juice
250 grams inverted sugar or glucose
Preparation:
- In a medium bowl put gelatin and water and soak for 10-15 minutes at room temperature, until gelatin absorbs all the liquid.
- Put sugar, 70 grams of mandarin juice and 100 grams of inverted sugar in a medium saucepan and cook the syrup to a temperature of 110c degrees.
- In a mixer bowl put 70 grams of mandarin juice and 150 grams of inverted sugar.
- Dissolve the gelatin in the microwave and add to mixer bowl. Beat well until smooth.
- Whip at medium speed and add in the hot syrup (110 degrees) in a thin stream while whipping.
- Continue to whip the mixture until it is stable, bright and cooled to a temperature of 40-45 degrees.
- Place the square pan on a silicon mat or parchment paper dusted with a mixture of cornstarch and powdered sugar, and pour the marshmallow mixture.
- Allow the marshmallow to set for about 12-24 hours.
- Cut into small squares and roll in mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch.
Notes:
- You can use any kind of citrus fruit you like instead of mandarin.