Three French Hens

Homemade Cocoa

I know I posted this before, but I LOVE this dark, rich cocoa topped with cold whipped cream!  This recipe came on the back of the package of vanilla beans I purchased from Costco.  I had to go online to find out how much sugar to put in the recipe.  That bit had been omitted from the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 1 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and use the back of the knife to scrape out the seeds.  Save the vanilla bean.  Put the sugar in the bowl of a food processor along with the vanilla bean seeds.  Process for about 10 seconds to make vanilla sugar.  Set aside 3 Tbsp of the vanilla sugar.

Place the rest of the vanilla sugar, the cocoa, the water, and the salt in a medium saucepan.  Whisk until smooth.  Continue whisking over medium heat until the mixture barely begins to bubble.  Add the milk, half and half, and saved vanilla bean and continue to whisk over medium heat until it just starts to simmer.

Whip the whipping cream together with the reserved vanilla sugar until soft peaks form.

Serve the cocoa with a generous dollop of whipped cream.

Link to last year’s post: http://misterme.com/2009/12/16/three-french-hens/