Author Notes
One evening I found myself craving hot chocolate. After all, I had spent the whole day sick in bed, it was drizzly out (that's Vancouver for you), and all I wanted was something warm, a touch rich, and comforting. I promptly went to my pantry to pull out the fixings for hot chocolate only to discover I had no actual chocolate, just simple cocoa powder.
Now while I of course have had hot chocolate made with cocoa powder, I had it in my head rich, thick hot chocolate. So I turned to my fridge for inspiration and saw tahini. Then it hit me: cocoa + tahini + whole milk+ a little sugar and spice to bring it together just might work. Lo and behold I was not disappointed! This came together as a warm, rich drink comforting enough to melt away some of my cold and just sweet enough to satisfy my craving. I hope it gets you through a cold night, too.
Note: The amount of sugar used could easily be scaled down or up depending on your tastes. I prefer a more intense chocolate flavour and could have done even less sugar. Your call! —french_trash
Ingredients
-
1
mug of milk (I used whole but could replace with lower fat or non dairy)
-
2 tablespoons
tahini
-
2-3 tablespoons
cocoa powder, (or more to taste if you like it extra bitter)
-
1.5 tablespoons
brown sugar, or more to taste
-
2
star anise
Directions
-
Measure out the amount of milk in the cup you plan to use. Pour into small saucepan.
-
Add in remaining ingredients to pan and whisk thoroughly. Heat over low-medium heat covered, whisking every minute or so. Once it simmers but does not boil, taste to make sure you are happy with the chocolately-ness and/or sweetness and adjust if necessary.
-
Pour into your mug and enjoy!
See what other Food52ers are saying.