TIS THE SEASON FOR HOT COCOA! Yes, this warrants all caps. And because having a lusciously refreshing (and comforting) peppermint hot cocoa recipe and another recipe for salted caramel hot cocoa just isn’t enough, I wanted to get even more creative with it.
Some of you might be scratching your heads and thinking, “Curry in a hot cocoa recipe?” Let me explain. A few months ago, three friends and I were sitting at Bittersweet Cafe, sipping a salted caramel hot cocoa that made us all melt into a pool of ecstasy, when someone said we should replicate the recipe. We contemplated all the ways we could recreate such a decadent beverage, and then the conversation turned to other hot cocoa ideas. Garrett, Sarah and I started tossing out all the lovely ways we could alter a basic hot cocoa recipe, and in a fit of inspiration, we decided to have a hot cocoa day, where we would all post a unique cocoa recipe at the same time.
Guess what? Today would be that day.
Hello Peanut Butter Curry Hot Cocoa Recipe
My addition to the fray is a variation of the peanut butter hot cocoa recipe I posted last year, taken a step further by adding a touch of yellow curry to give it a little kick. I’m calling this Thai Spice Hot Cocoa, since the inspiration for the recipe was a yellow curry recipe I developed when I first started to learn how to cook Thai food. Yes, I know, yellow curry is from India – but the Thais adopted it into their culinary repertoire and made it their own, so the Thai categorization will stick for this recipe, thankyouverymuch.
You’ll find Sarah and Garrett’s recipes at the bottom of this post. And a note to my three food blogging compatriots: guys, I love you more than words can express. This recipe is for you.
- 2 cups milk, 2% milkfat
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- In a small saucepan, heat milk and heavy cream over medium-low heat. Bring the milk to just 165°F (73°C), or until you see bubbles begin to appear around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat. Do NOT bring to a full boil, or the milk will taste burnt.
- Pour in salt and chopped chocolate, stirring constantly until chocolate is completely melted into the milk.
- In a small bowl, mix peanut butter, yellow curry powder, and ground ginger until you’ve got a smooth paste with no lumps. Add peanut butter to chocolate milk and return the saucepan to a low heat. Stir constantly until the peanut butter is incorporated into the milk. If you have some lumps of peanut butter that simply won’t melt, run the cocoa through a blender and reheat before serving.
- Serve hot, adding more salt to taste.
Here are everyone else’s recipes – I’m impressed, and I think you will be too!
- Gingerbread Hot Cocoa with White Pepper by Sarah Olson, A Beach Home Companion
- Semisweet with Smoked Paprika, Cloves and White Pepper by Garrett McCord, Vanilla Garlic
- Another chocolate recipe from Garrett, over at Simply Recipes
This content was originally posted on FearlessFresh.com.
