Boisson de Vincent

I suppose it is my way that a great hot chocolate recipe arises out of delirious grief - delirious grief and the strangest of circumstances. Indeed, this recipe was gifted to me as a consolation endowment by a French man chancing upon my little corner of Canada. Which shall I start with: the misery, the rendez-vous, or the curious present? 

The grief arose chiefly from a heartbreak occuring less than twenty-four hours prior to the recipe's reception. The meeting came about from my sister bringing a French man home following a trip to the south Pacific, and he happened to arrive in Vancouver within this unfortunate twenty-four hour window. The strange but endearing gift was his response to me wretchedly weeping in front of a total stranger who learned we had a common interest in hot chocolate. Hence, we find ourselves in the company of this recipe.

Ingredients (for three friends)

  • 200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate (at least 54%)

  • 30 g (2 tbsp) butter

  • 250 mL (1 cup) cream

  • 500 - 750 mL (2-3 cups) milk (depending on desired consistency)

  • Pinch of cinnamon 

A classic French chocolate, indeed.

You shall require a single pot and whisk at minimum, although this list can be expanded to include a thermometer (I would be careful to never heat dairy over 65°C/150°F due to the risk of a skin forming) and double boiler.

Now what this man did for me in my own kitchen as I collected the strewn pieces of my shattered heart was remarkably beautiful in its simplicity. I transcribe his actions below:

  1. Finely chop the chocolate.

  2. On a medium-low temperature, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and stir until combined.

  3. Add the cream and stir until combined.

  4. Add the milk and stir until combined. The man encouraged me to add it bit by bit so as to not wait hours for the hot chocolate to reach my desired temperature.

  5. Add the pinch of cinnamon.

There, my dearest reader, is the French man's cure to heartbreak. It is the exact formulation that any good hot chocolate is a cousin of: dark chocolate melted into cream and milk. I suppose, like heartbreak, the key to quality hot chocolate is universal.